Award winning photo taken at dive site under threat
(CNS): A photograph taken at Devil’s Grotto in the George Town Harbour won second prize in the Compact Camera category in Scuba Magazine‘s 2019 underwater photography competition. The picture was taken by Nikki Hazouri, who took advantage of the ambient light available to get the perfect shot of a tarpon after sticking her camera underneath a hanging ledge at the site.
But this much loved dive site is under threat from the proposed cruise berthing development.
Activists from Sustainable Cayman noted on their social media pages that underwater photography, especially in the harbour, helps maintain Grand Cayman as a must-see dive destination for people from around the world, as well as a favourite for local scuba divers, free divers and snorkellers.
“Most concerning is that this exquisite dive site is under immediate threat,” the activists noted in their post, even though George Town Harbour was dedicated as a #HopeSpot by Mission Blue. “The proposed Cruise Berthing Pier adjacent to this site will produce lethal sedimentation to this marine ecosystem, destroying the coral as well as ruining the crystal clear water which allows impressive photos…”
Grand Cayman's George Town Harbour unique Dive Site Devil's Grotto provides the location for another world-class…
Posted by Sustainable Cayman on Monday, 12 August 2019
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Category: Marine Environment, Science & Nature
the people in charge of this country, don’t have the sense they were born with. Poor Cayman!
what a pity that our fearless leaders can’t see and reason beyond their noses!
Save Hog Sty Bay.
You’re concerned about maybe 1% of GCM’s reef in a industrial shipping and docking area..
yet still complain that the sister islands are a welfare state while ignoring that there’s world class diving destinations over there that we can instead promote visitation to also.
Divers, snorkelers, submarine and glass-bottom boat operators, SNUBA outfits, millions of tourists, and thousands of Caymanian residents already know, from firsthand knowledge, that George Town harbour, and vicinity, have some of the best, most unique, and most valuable coral formations of any of the three islands. Marine species density and biodiversity are equal to many much deeper scuba-access only dives. It’s all within reach of shore, snorkel depth, and colour spectrum. Many would happily trade 100% of ALL CRUISE arrivals to preserve that, if that were even a credible consequence, which we also know, it isn’t.
You know we really should not even have to go to Referendum to get these knuckleheads to really understand what is being at stake here. This is not about ” one man one vote, which was important, it is not about amending the Constitution, which is also very important. This is about saving our beautiful underwater vistas, saving our beaches, saving the dive sites, about protecting our environment, it is about saving Cayman. These treasures are already here, we are not trying to get these, we are merely trying to protect them.
Why should we have to go through all the trouble to bring a Referendum to try to get this government to understand that they will be destroying the very reason why the cruise tourists that come to Cayman come. If we destroy the beauty and muck up the system to bring more tourists here on this 2×4 Rock, have them stepping over each other, unable to walk, or even have a safe and relaxing tour out to the out-lying districts, having to rush there and back, and they decide to not come back, how will that benefit us? I guess that is too much for them to understand so looks like we will be having a Referendum! Please anyone who has not signed the petition or verified their signature don’t wait any longer. Do it before it is too late. As the Premier said in the informercial about spaying and neutering his dog “I did my part” will you?
Instead of thumbing down please tell us why you do not believe that all of the activities that comes with rebuilding the port and building the piers will negatively effect the island, especially the George Town dive sites and the seven mile beach. Enquiring minds want to know.
The caribbean has lost more than 80% of it’s coral with more species being listed endangered every year. The coral caters to 25% of ALL marine life and without healthy coral our marine life would drastically decline as the ever looming threat of climate change and piss poor development threatens the fragile ecosystem many species have made their home.
They say coral are the trees of the ocean. Humans cannot survive without trees on land. Do you think we can survive without them in the water? Our politicians are playing a very dangerous game with mother nature which will be felt in the coming years if Caymanians don’t pull their head out of the sand and stop drinking the koolaid this worthless government has been feeding us.
The referendum does show many are willing to stand up for what is right and sensible for our long term and everyone and anybody with a half decent brain will realise how important it is for the people not the government to have the final say in this matter.
I implore anyone who is undecided on the port issue to go and snorkel at Eden Rock or Paradise. The reef there is absolutely amazing and teeming with an abundance of fish and other aquatic life, as is the rest of George Town Harbor. Devils Grotto should be considered a national treasure and protected at all costs.
Truly,
Caymanian freediver
One of the ironies of this is that Eden Rock and Paradise are both very popular attractions for visiting cruise shippers. If the dock and the suggested high-rise developments go ahead you have to start wondering who in their right mind is going to going to want to visit here in a few years. I’ve seen this happen in other places and what it boils down to is there’s a point where you kill the very business you’re trying to encourage.
That is the issue right here, they are not in their right minds! The only thing they understand is destruction and their egos.