Saw the beach back in 1985, was on the beach for Gilbert in 88 (that was something I never want to have to go through again), was here for Ivan in 2004 and the see the beach pretty much everyday.
As some have mentioned in the past, any beach is a "living" thing in a constant state of change. The shifting sands do just that, shift - they come and go as nature guides with the waves and sea action. When man puts something in the way, such as the concrete structure at Mariposa, the nature of the beach is interrupted and the sand is handled in a different way. Rather than being able for the waves to ride up the beach and recede, they strike the wall and essentially scour out more sand.
Here is a post I made back in January of 2012 - it is still applicable today:
To all,
Here is a picture that I took just a couple minutes ago on the beach at Charela Inn. Please note the position of their sign as well as the curve of the bay off in the distance.
Here is a picture I took at this same location back in March of 1998. It was featured on the Negril.com Negril Today page.
Once again note the sign and the curve of the bay in the background. As you notice, they are taken from approximately the same position, but some 14 years apart.
For the Smith Warner report from 2008 as referenced in the article to be accurate, there must be some 40 to 80 feet of beach missing since that old picture was taken in 1998. Do you see 40 to 80 feet of beach missing in the current picture?
As Kahuna said, "articles such as this often are written to sensationalize a cause, and can be overly pessimistic".
