Lifeguards rescued 75 people last year
Despite being plagued by recruitment challenges, the island’s lifeguard unit performed 75 rescue exercises, amid hundreds of preventive measures last year, the Minister of Public Works and Environment said.
Jaché Adams also told the House of Assembly during the Budget debate yesterday that while the impact of the “critical service” was measurable and significant, posts remained vacant — with little interest shown by locals to fill them.
On the rescue exercises, he said that “75 families were spared unimaginable loss because our trained professionals were present, alert and prepared to act”.
Mr Adams reminded the House that the island had experienced multiple deaths on beaches since 2023.
“Each of these incidents was been a painful reminder of the indispensable role lifeguards play in protecting lives along our shores,” he said.
“These are not distant statistics. They underscore the very real responsibility we carry to ensure our beaches are properly supervised — particularly as they remain central to both community life and our tourism product.”
Mr Adams said increased visitor numbers brought economic opportunity but also raised the bar for “enhanced public safety coverage”.
He said: “As beach usage grows, so too must our capacity to safeguard those who enjoy them.”
The lifeguard unit was allocated $1.54 million in the Budget, up $22,000 from last year and the additional funds will be spent on recruitment and equipment.
According to the Budget book, the lifeguard team administered 400 minor and 21 major first-aid interventions.
The team carried out more than 5,500 preventive actions, which Mr Adams said included warning swimmers of rip currents and preventing hazardous dives into shallow waters, as well as addressing safety risks before they escalated.
He said: “In total, they directly assisted more than 11,000 beachgoers.
“These are the interventions that often go unseen. They are the quiet moments where tragedy is prevented, not reported.”
Mr Adams said the Department of Parks had faced “ongoing recruitment challenges” for lifeguards, with only one established, full-time post at present — the lifeguard superintendent.
Despite “sustained” recruitment efforts and increases in pay during the past two years, Mr Adams said there had been no meaningful rise in applications or the number of qualified seasonal lifeguards.
He said that the department had been faced with the immediate need to ensure adequate beach coverage and had unveiled a programme early last year to hire eight year-round, full-time lifeguards.
He called the short-term move a “temporary and practical” measure while recruitment and retention issues were ironed out.
The jobs were initially offered to local residents but no qualified applicants applied.
Six consultant lifeguards recruited from overseas met operational demands, while two positions remain reserved for Bermudians, their spouses or holders of permanent resident’s certificates.
The Government is committed to advancing environmental protection, the Minister of Public Works and Environment said.
Jaché Adams told the House of Assembly yesterday that during the past fiscal year, the Government delivered “meaningful environmental reform”.
Multiple pieces of legislation came to Parliament, such as the Clean Air Amendment Regulations 2025 and the Water Resources (Discharge Reporting, Abatement and Remediation) Regulations 2025.
Mr Adams said: “These reforms are not symbolic. They are substantive.”
He said the Government was committed to pausing new marine protected areas until an agreement could be reached with local fishermen on better enforcement and fairer data collection rules.
He referenced the Bermuda Ocean Prosperity Programme, drawn up in a partnership between the Government, the Waitt Institute and the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences.
It was announced in 2022 with sweeping plans to safeguard the island's marine resources.
The programme involved the development of a Marine Spatial Plan to balance economic activity, environmental conservation and cultural preservation, with 20 per cent of the island’s waters designated fishing-free zones — a move that angered many in the fishing community.
Mr Adams told the House that the Government is committed to developing oversight through the Marine Resources Enforcement Strategy 2025.
Public consultation ran from October to November last year as authorities faced multiple cases of illegal fishing.
Mr Adams told the House that over the past two years, four cases of illegal fishing in marine protected areas were prosecuted. Another four are before the courts, while the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions reviews three additional cases.
In December, the ministry said the six lifeguards from Britain’s Royal National Lifeboat Institution were hired for year-round cover at Horseshoe Bay Beach.
Each is on a two-year contract as efforts continue for a consistent, professional lifeguard service in preparation for peak tourism season.
Mr Adams said that, as of last month, the two lifeguard posts remained vacant “due to the lack of local applicants, which continues to place additional pressure on the existing team”.
He said the Government had listened to Bermudians’ concerns about the absence of “stable, full-time” lifeguard career paths.
Last March, the parks department advertised for 20 lifeguards after three deaths off Bermuda beaches in 2024.
Hyon Duk Shin, a 49-year-old visitor from Pennsylvania, died while trying to save a child struggling in the waves at Horseshoe Bay on March 27, 2024.
Another visitor, 48-year-old Jamie Lambros from New York, was pronounced dead at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital after an incident at Horseshoe Bay on October 7 that year.
Angelito Manila, a 44-year-old guest worker from the Philippines, died days after being found unresponsive in the waters of Elbow Beach on October 24, 2024.
No lifeguards were present when the incidents occurred.
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