Exumians Say 40ft wide, 390ft Long Seawall at Yntegra Development Would Do Massive Damage to Environment

EXUMA, BAHAMAS – Community leaders in Exuma are in shock after learning of plans to build a massive seawall – 390 feet long and 40 feet wide, rising four feet above the water: longer than a football field and wider than a tennis court. 

The Save Exuma Alliance (SEA) said the project is shocking, dangerous and disrespectful to both residents and the environment. 

“This will be a huge structure,” said local boat captain Keiran Miller, “It will change tidal flows, shrink nearby beaches and damage marine life. The fact that this was hidden until now makes us wonder, what else are they keeping secret?” 

The seawall was revealed in the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) released on 21 July 2025, for the proposed Yntegra Rosewood Resort on Sampson Cay, Exuma. Until then, no mention of such a structure had been made public. 

The resort plan already raised concerns: more than 70 new buildings, giant generators, two mega-yacht marinas, and now this seawall — larger than many breakwaters built for cruise ship ports throughout The Bahamas.

It would be built in the shallow, fragile waters of Sampson Cay’s North Bay to allow the Yntegra Rosewood project to locate a supply dock on the north end of the island.  The developers propose dredging through coral reef, a thriving conch hatchery and a 15-acre seagrass meadow, forcing shipping traffic dangerously close—within 200 feet—of two recreational beaches.

“There is so little information about this – and very little detail about the impact of this seawall being built,” said Joseph Darville, who is an environmentalist and has spent years diving these waters. “There is no analysis in the environmental impact assessment (EIA) or the responses to queries – and this structure completely blocks a 7-foot-deep cut that is the primary source of tidal flow into the bay. Of course that is going to cause disruption. This is an absolute insult to the people of Exuma and shows a total lack of appreciation or respect for the local resources that support our business.”

Darville added: “This will dramatically change the North Bay of Sampson Cay.”

There are estimates from experts familiar with the area that the seawall could block up to 90% of the tidal flows into seagrass meadow immediately adjacent to the proposed structure.

SEA representative and another local captain Tito Baldwin said: “It is an outrage that anyone would think this could be done without properly consulting the community. It could have an absolutely devastating impact on the landscape and ecology of the area. It needs proper analysis, and nothing should go ahead until that is done, and then there is a real discussion with people in Exuma about it. 

“That it could get to this stage – with the meetings there have already been – and this is the first time it has been presented to the public… it makes you wonder how serious any of the consultation with the community has been.”

The EMP, prepared by consultant firm BRON, says that “hydrodynamic modelling of currents and sediment transport” was conducted, but no details have emerged, other than a suggestion that there would be no maintenance dredging needed. 

SEA says: “Further analysis of the impact of these changes on the marine life of the area are required to fully understand the environmental impact. This cannot go ahead until that is done.”

SEA has repeatedly expressed concern, stating a development of the size and scale of the Yntegra Rosewood project is completely inappropriate for an area such as Sampson Cay – and this latest revelation continues to show the devastating impact it would have on the environment in the area and the lack of proper consultation in the process. 

SEA said: “Yntegra’s proposal would transform Sampson Cay from a pristine island into a dense, overdeveloped destination totally out of place in scale and design. This is a project that would be ideal for, and welcomed in, Great Exuma, but not on a small cay in the heart of a fragile, amazing world of marine treasures. Continuing with this plan means they would dredge areas with coral reefs and seagrass meadows, bulldoze native coastlines, destroy natural wetlands, and cause irreversible damage to our environment.” 

“This latest news of a seawall that would forever change the currents and alter the beaches and shorelines in the area is yet another reason why this should not go ahead. It is not too late to rethink the design of the resort and downsize it to utilise the deep water on the southern end of the island and to be more appropriate for the size of the community.”

The Save Exuma Alliance is a coalition of community leaders, local business owners, and residents of the Exuma Caysworking to safeguard Exuma’s unique ecosystems and quality of life from unsustainable development.

A petition has been launched to halt environmental clearance for the Rosewood Hotels/Yntegra Sampson Cay Project – and has already received more than 6,300 signatures. 

You can sign the petition at https://www.change.org/stopsampsoncayproject or follow the link from the SEA website.