Iconic Hellshire beach disappearing right before our eyes | What can we do to reverse the effects? 

I am one of those persons who in the pass would be out to hellshire every Sunday to relax and read my paper and enjoy the natural beauty and just watching people enjoy themselves but stop doing it for some years back now because Honestly while I understand and was observing for myself the whole erosion situation taking place over there separate and apart from the erosion Hellshire has become like a big inner city slum,last time I went over there I couldn't believe how just to access the beach is like going through some deep inner-city community pure zinc zinc fence and little walk through passages and on the beach itself with stray dogs and littered with dog mess at different places had to be stepping and watching just not to step in any .....I think the overcrowding will definitely have to be sorted out too much ppl living on the beach which in with itself is a health hazard.And the truth be told if the authorities go in to deal with that you going to hear that them fighting poor people out of their livelihood so it is just a sticky situation over there.

Hellshire beach is now practically a slum with people who captured the beach and built huts on it. I used to live in Portmore from the early 1970s at that time you only had two communities Independence City and Edgewater. The rest of the area was mostly cane fields and few swampy mangroves trees. At that time Hellshire had a beautiful stretch of white sand beach which looked like it went for miles. You could walk out into the water for awhile before it started getting deep. You could get fresh fish to buy from the fishermen or get fried fish and festival from vendors who had stalls. There was no zinc huts and slum. But Hurricane Flora and I think another storm came in the 1970s and did severe damage to the beach and it wasn’t safe anymore. Fort Clarence was created after to replace it but because there was a fee charged for its upkeep, people still went to risky Hellshire beach. That entire stretch needs to be developed including Fort Clarence to be like Harmony Free Beach in Montego Bay where there is free wi fi etc. I think there is a small fee for use of the change room but you don’t have to use it.

It was my place to go whenever I came to Jamaica. The vendors are building more out into the sea or water, that is why people cannot walk from one end to the other end . .

Congratulations on becoming licensed Realtors 🎉🎉🎉🎉

I have not been back to Hellshire in over 10 years; and I’ve heard people talk about the erosion of the beach, but to actually see it with my own eyes in this video, my heart sinks! This is beyond sad.

I was a Portmore resident... Cumberland Gardens, to be exact. Cool... cool... Manchester is now my place. I last visited Hellshire in 2019 at Aunt Merl's restaurant. The government needs to step up and save this iconic beach.

This is very sad it was a meeting place of Jamaicans and you just felt comfortable I remember me and my cousin going there Henry knows who is in heaven and I as a shy person there were thousands of people on the beach but everybody just it was like we were just one big family it was so nice. They need to do something to get back to the beach

My football team used to train on this beach ,we could run for ages on the sand from one point to way round

Some people are complaining that Jamaican beaches aren't free...well here is a great example of what happens to beaches that are not maintained. Beach erosion can be reduced by putting seawalls and breakwater infrastructure which costs A LOT of money. The community using this beach should come together to address this. I'm sure many of us in Jamaica would rather see our tax money go to the needy than to save Portmore free beach. So sad to see.

Thanks for sharing.. This is so sad, I remember my grandmother used to take my sister and I to Hellshire Beach in the early 70s. This is before there were any vendors, just pure mangroves. My uncle Countryman and his friend Jack were the fishermen used to fish from there. He actually lives right there in a little hut on the sand. I also remember him going wild hog hunting in the bushes. I live in Canada now and would love to have my kids experience Hellshire and let them know this is where Daddy used to come when he was a boy, but it's all gone😢. And you're right there use to be a reef further out. You could actually swim out there and stand up it was so shallow. It was like a little mimi beach in the middle of the water. I wish the Jamaican government or some entities can do something about it. Maybe build some sort of artificial reef back and restore back the beach. Over the years, Hellshire Beach has become very vital to the surrounding areas and the locals. Please save Hellshire...

Happy u highlighted Hellshire beach, it's a very concerning matter that needs immediate attention. I'm a resident of that community that lives overseas. I was very surprised to c that level of erosion what i visited. It's scary, HELP!

It’s not just hellshire beach alone, it’s happening right across Jamaica. I went to Titchfield High School in the 90s . We used to eat our lunch on the seaside, catch crabs from under the rocks etc. I visited in 2015, the seaside disappeared and the water was super deep.

A white reporter did say that Jamaica is shrinking and we might end up losing Jamaica completely because right now you have those aluminum mud p pond which are acidic and they could be eating away at the floor of the island we don't know what what's happening beneath so we better watch ourselves love each other.

Another example of the type of government that is in Jamaica. If this was an area that the rich people was interested in then they would have done the necessary works to preserve it. But who cares about the poor. Not the government. It is time the residents start lobby the politicians elected or unelected to start doing something about it. Very good video. Let’s hope the government and the opposition see it and start looking into ways of saving this area.

They need to do something to stop it because part of Portmore connects to hellshire.

You were able to walk out into the water for a few meters also before the water would get to ur knees...

Hey 👋🏾 family!! Good to see you ❤

Very good and informative video, I trust the authorities come with a plan to save our beach.Thanks for sharing

I use to go Helshire almost every Sunday, bought their overpriced fish and pay for for parking and enjoyed the vide. Until i had to pay a fee on weekends to enter the beach ( they said its to maintain the beach) where is all that money going? They Vendors are making a killing and have not come together to protect their livelihoods?

Shocking! I have such great memories of this place. As a kid, over 40 years ago, my dearly departed uncle used to take us to Hellsire almost every Sunday. The government would need to get involved but unlikely since it is not a tourist attraction and it is a free beach.

Adrian i can feel your sentiment but if you know how this beach use to look back in the days its really has to do with selfish ppl literally taking over the beach building structure after structure till there's no beach left, i realize ppl have to mek money but truth be told how many of them really make any money because the closer you get to the beach and the bigger the structure thats the one ppl gravitate to. So blame the people for how Hellshire looks now

i did an assessment there. i have the plan on what needs to be done. yet nobody wants to listen or help fund the beach rehabilitation project. all my work would have been free. the funding was to acquire the equipment and to maintain the project. but that is typical Jamaicans always want to use and not give back or at least maintain. maybe that is why nature is taking back the beach. if the right people should come along im ready to start.

Great contents guys! Prime Minister over to you. Also, the greedy fishermen who mainly destroyed this iconic beach, yes, by destroying the coral reefs.

In 2004, Red Bull had a football competition on the beach with stands and nice little marked out football pitch on the sand. Then you still had more sand to walk on passed that to get to the shoreline. That's all gone now. And now, they've installed a erosion monitoring tower. Smh, too little too late.

Very good video.

1983 we used to party there every Sunday

The building of concrete structures so close the the beach in addition to overfishing with explosives, is what destroyed this beach. This beach was once a nice place to visit but some people refuse to pay a premium for a dingy experience. There is public parking but you’re pressured to give someone money just to point to a parking spot. Then you’ll likely pay a premium to sit in a worn down structure and be sold fish at some of the highest prices in the country. Fixing this would require all the concrete structures to be removed from the waterfront and the construction of artificial reefs to allow the beach to rebuild. Building codes actually warn against building permanent structures close to the water.

the reason why there's no beach, is not because the sea came in or rising sea levels, but because the venders put their stalls on the beach. So its actually venders eroding the beach, and not the sea levels rising. If you look clearly at the part where there are no venders, the beach is clearly there.

Another place the beach is being eroded is in Little Ochi (Alligator Pond)

Look at some of the videos on Dubai restoring coral Reeves, in order to make land and restore beaches. Also, the same restoration was done in Legos, Nigeria, echo Atlantis, which had the same problem you’re having, but the land and the beaches were restored. It’s on RU-vid.

That long line is partialy anatural reef and partly man made in an effort to brrak the weater and stop it from eroding thr beach but it appears that it needs to be repaired....

2:48 facts bro smh memories all we left with everything else washed away

Mismanagement is a big part of the problem, but rising sea levels from climate change ( happening throughout the Caribbean) is definitely a big part of the change.

How does jamaica becomes landlocked with it being an island.?

It the people that living on the beach is taking the space where we used to walk and play. . An it not free any more you have to pay to park there

It get f,, all the big everlasting tree 🌴 wey use to deh pon the beach wey me use to lie dung under and chill during weekdays when me get a one day off and go down a hellshire from edgewater go chill, that gone to raaaas ,, but back in a the days like 30 years ago, hellshire was the place for uptown rich people and white and highl colour Jamaicans , on Sunday hellshire use to be full with the upper classes, who naaa tan in a dem bikini 👙 a , come fe eat lobster, the beach at hellshire was nice , shame it gone , the younger upcoming generation will be missing out on a lot , was the best and calmest beach, it’s sad it’s gone 😢❤🇯🇲🇬🇧

Jah know 😢😢😢😢

Clansman from Spanish town a dem fi spend money and fix it a dem a extract revenue from over deh

Sad fe see hellshire beach a come to this. It’s been a minute now de warning a gwan as to de erosion a de beach but ones ignore it. Government could a intervene but you done know how it go when it come to government ahh locals. Dem no care. Last time me go a Hellshire an inna 2017 or 2022. The situation a literally hell yah now ! DREAD !

The water is taking back its course

I understand that the reef is completely destroyed & there are a lot of squatters there. Government needs to step in & protect it, however you are going to hear about poor people & lack of beach access. So sickening & sad.

Landlocked?? Jamaica is not landlocked. Rwanda is landlocked, it is surrounded by other countries…it is without sea/ocean. So to say Jamaica is landlocked is not factual. Erosion is what is happening with the Portmore coastal. Good that you are bringing attention to the issue , but do remember that this is happening because of global warming which mostly affects countries in the Caribbean like Jamaica which does not significantly contribute to global warming, but is being affected the most by it. Unfortunately there is not a lot that the Jamaican government can do. They can put down large rocks, but that is just a bandaid that will eventually get washed off as glaciers melt causing oceans to rise. As long as western countries and China continues to sit on their hands and do nothing, then it will only get worse. You won’t see anything done about climate change until these countries start to be affected but unfortunately it will be too late for smaller countries like Jamaica and Barbados.

Wonder what is causing this tho ??

Maybe they stole the sand from the beach

Jamaican government and there poor management skills 😢

💚🖤💛

There’s no beach erosion. The vendors are the ones building out into the beach. If there was beach erosion you would be further away from the sand bar and after fifty years of going to Hellshire it seems like you’re getting closer to it.

Hellshire Beach migrate

Rising sea level… that is Global warming for you

ITS JUST A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE THE SEA COVER THE WHOLE JAMAICA 🇯🇲😭🚢⛴🛳🚤🛥⛵🚣🏻‍♀️🚣🏻🏊🏻🏊🏻‍♀️🎖👍🏻🙏🏻