Cabbage Beach Access

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Access to Cabbage Beach is a legacy issue with multiple administrations struggling to mediate the issues between the public and owners of private property on Paradise Island. Our News went to Cabbage Beach and Montague Beach today for public opinion on the issue.

Bahamian law states that anything below the high water line is supposed to be public property but many people feel it’s not public access, if you can’t access the beach.

Access has often been in an on-again-off again state with Cabbage Beach, and due to the unclear criteria for whether access is open to the public, some Bahamians allege racial discrimination, or colorism, as a factor in who is allowed to enjoy the beach.

In the most recent weekly press briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister, Press Secretary Clint Watson offering this update on the current state of affairs on Cabbage Beach.

More than once, the Bahamian vendors of Cabbage Beach have torn down fences to protest closures of the area. Once in 2016, and most recently last year, after the beach was closed and vendors’ belongings were left on the side of the road.

Today, we asked vendors to comment on the situation, but were told they were unable to comment at this time.

Just a few miles down the road at Montague Beach, we asked locals how they feel about public beach access on Cabbage Beach. Much to our surprise, the beachgoers this afternoon seemed largely unaffected by the restrictions.

One man, who didn’t want to be on camera, tells us he hasn’t been to Cabbage Beach in over a decade, and that he stopped feeling welcome after the fences started appearing around the area.

Bain, an electrical contractor from Exuma says he feels the issue is one not shared by Family Islanders, but warns that beaches need to be protected, lest we end up like Jamaica, where he claims they struggle to find beach access.