Dredging has decimated regional coral reefs, says expert

(CNS): Renowned regional marine scientist Dr Tom Goreau has revealed the extent of the damage to marine environments all around the Carribean resulting from dredging for cruise berthing facilities and marinas or large ships stirring up sediment as they pull into docks. Speaking at the CPR rally on Tuesday, he said the massive amount of port and coastal development in the Caribbean has been devasting for coral reefs, the world’s most delicate ecosystems.

Goreau said that in almost every case where dredging and development has taken place around nearshore marine habitats in this region the projects have either directly destroyed coral or smothered it through the silt and sediment from subsequent day-to-day operations.

He said that in almost all places where claims have been made by the developers that coral has been replanted, the relocated marine life has died within a very short time after the photos were taken and success declared.

He said that in most cases, the predictions for the impact of dredging projects were less than the reality. The scientists conducting the environmental impact assessments in the region are often paid by the cruise lines or developer teams that are building docks, marinas and other coastal projects. Consequently, the environmental results tend to underestimate the damage in order to tell those who are paying what they want to hear, he said.

Goreau told a number of stories about the destruction of marine life and corals and the subsequent problems. During the most recent dredging in the port of Miami, he said, over half a million corals were killed off, pretty much the last they had. He told the audience that most marine engineering projects turn out to be far more destructive than everyone involved predicts and the Miami case was one of the worst.

“Eighty times more coral were killed than the EIA said would happen,” he said. “That was a disaster, and there are so many more.”

Goreau said the Cayman Islands’ marine environment is still among the best in the region, and being able to dive right here in the harbour is truly unique. However, he stressed the importance of preserving it and explained how critical reefs are in protecting beaches. Losing any more of the coral here would have an impact on the beaches as well as directly destroying the marine habitat, he said.

Despite Cayman’s loss of live coral top on the reefs in the George Town Harbour, it still has living clean reefs, free from algae, largely because of the quality of our local seas, free from the river and sewage run-off that plagues other destinations, he said.

Goreau pointed out that the local corals are already struggling to reproduce because of the heat due to climate change. But he said they are well placed for a coral recovery project, which could help regenerate the ancient but dying reefs. However, if Cayman goes ahead with dredging for a berthing facility, that would be impossible as preserving the water quality is key to regeneration projects, he said.

“Don’t destroy your coral reefs to make a little money now because you will destroy your grandchildren’s future,” he warned, noting that healthy reefs will mitigate against future climate change.

Before Goreau’s presentation, local photographer Courtney Platt, a well known advocate for protecting our reefs, showed in a series of photographs what Cayman still has to lose.

Platt debunked the false narratives that have been circulated for years by some who support dredging and harbour development that the harbour is devoid of coral life. He said people have suggested that “there is nothing out there to lose, but there really is… It is uniquely positioned as a perfect cruise attraction.”

Platt showed a series of beautiful images he has taken over the years of the many reefs in the harbour, all of which could be at risk depending on what type of project the government pursues if the electorate votes ‘yes’ to the idea of berthing facilities in the referendum next month.

However, Platt detailed the massive coral loss the cruise project proposed by the PPM in 2018 would have caused. he noted that while the average coral coverage in the waters around Grand Cayman has now fallen to less than 18%, in the harbour it’s considerably higher at 21%.

He explained that with very accessible calm waters, the multitude of reefs and wrecks in George Town is the perfect place for novice divers. It also allows cruise visitors to dive, snorkel or take glass-bottom boat tours as soon as they get off the ship, which is extremely rare. However, some of the reefs are now inaccessible during the day because of the cruise activity, so only overnight guests can enjoy diving them.

All of the reefs in the harbour remain major tourism attractions, but if it was dredged to dredge to build piers to increase the ship calls and passenger numbers, there are unanswered questions about where those passengers would be able to dive, snorkel or take glass-bottom boat tours.

Grand Cayman is already suffering from dwindling beach space and a decline in the number of accessible attractions across the island for cruise passengers. If the unique marine environment right in the capital was also lost, the tour operators would likely be no better off with piers than they are now.

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