Saving Seven Mile Beach: between sand and sea
Matthew Feitelberg writes: I want you to close your eyes and picture something. You’re walking down a beach; the sun is shining; a Christmas breeze is blowing. In both directions, the sand stretches for miles. Waves crash into the shore, splashing your legs as you instinctively raise the bag you’re carrying to keep it dry. On the other side, under the canopies of casuarina and sea grape trees, people rest their eyes while children try to knock coconuts off the palms, their long necks provocatively dangling fruit just out of reach.
You can open your eyes.
That version of a beach once existed for those of us fortunate enough to grow up in Cayman. We remember birthday parties at Public Beach, struggling to reach the high benches, eating jerk chicken laced with sand, full moon parties at Calico’s, and New Year’s Eve at Royal Palms.
But that Cayman is gone. And the beach that shaped so many memories is eroding fast. While understanding the causes of this erosion matters, this piece is about what happens next. We can’t keep resting on nostalgia. Seven Mile Beach needs a plan, and the time to act is now.
Built on Shifting Sands
Jimi Hendrix sings, “Castles made of sand fall into the sea eventually.” Here in Cayman, it’s not just a metaphor. Over recent years, iconic beachfront spots — Royal Palms, the Marriott, Coral Beach — have all watched the sea creep closer, undermining their foundations. Royal Palms has already succumbed. The Marriott could follow.
We’ve forced permanence on a space that’s inherently temporary. Beaches are constantly changing. They are meant to. Coasts shift with each passing wave, the battle between erosion and growth a constant tug of war. This dynamic nature is at the heart of tropical islands. Coral reefs offshore break waves and deliver sediment to the coast. Hurricanes come, reshape the shore, and move on. Then the beach begins to recover. This cycle was once reliable. Not anymore.
We replaced coconut trees with concrete. Seven Mile Beach evolved from a quiet coastline with small buildings to a strip of aggressive development. Global hotel brands expanded, altering the character of one of the Caribbean’s most iconic beaches. Their developments now sit on fragile ground.
Erosion isn’t caused by development alone — beaches are naturally transient. But where buildings edge closest to the water, the damage is greatest.
Short-Term Fixes, Limited Time
A DHI report prepared for DART recommends beach nourishment: using offshore “sand engines” to feed sediment back into the southern beach, and “sediment traps” in the north to reduce loss. It sounds effective — focused intervention with minimal tourist disruption.
But the plan is temporary, projected to last just five years. And then? The report is silent on next steps. Should development continue? Will larger decks be allowed? Without a stronger policy, we risk repeating the same mistakes.
There’s also bias to consider. DHI specialises in engineering projects. DART profits from development on Seven Mile Beach. That doesn’t invalidate the proposal, but it does demand scrutiny.
Biorock: A Living Reef Solution
There is another path. Marine biologist Dr Tom Goreau, president of the Global Coral Reef Alliance, proposes a solution that restores nature’s role: Biorock reef regeneration. It uses low-voltage electricity to stimulate coral growth on submerged metal frames. The structures quickly accumulate limestone and become “biorocks” that support marine life, resist bleaching, and buffer wave energy.
These projects have already helped restore beaches in Indonesia and the Maldives. They don’t replace nourishment, but they rebuild the very reefs that protect the coast. Goreau has offered to pilot this in Cayman.
The Case for Managed Retreat
It seems obvious that construction along the coast needs to stop. But what should happen to the buildings already there?
In the Caribbean, and especially in Cayman, visitors have come to expect direct access to the sea from their hotels. But direct beach access is a luxury, not a right. Copacabana Beach, arguably the most famous coastline in the world, is lined with hotels and condos set back nearly 200 metres behind a broad public promenade. And yet, it remains packed with tourists. By contrast, the distance from the edge of the Ritz-Carlton to the sea is just 40 metres. The imbalance is obvious.
There’s little evidence to suggest that people will stop visiting simply because their hotel isn’t perched on the sand. In fact, shifting development inland could invite a better use of space. Think back to the old Hyatt. Its lush gardens and water features created a cooling, tranquil buffer between the buildings and the outside world, a luxury in its own right. Reimagining our coastal properties this way could improve both guest experience and environmental resilience.
The greater challenge is not tourism; it’s the legal and financial fallout of walking back decades of beachfront investment. Relocating or repurposing structures along Seven Mile Beach would involve navigating property rights, insurance, and enormous valuations. Few managed retreat models exist for this kind of real estate, though the 2013 case of Oakwood Beach in Staten Island offers one. There, residents successfully lobbied the government to buy their homes and move them out of harm’s way. It worked — but not without disputes over compensation and fairness.
Could something similar happen here? Could government facilitate voluntary buyouts or incentivise relocation? I’m not a lawyer. But I can see the beach disappearing, and I can see that doing nothing is no longer an option.
In the short term, the sand engines described in the DHI report could help prevent further erosion. A carefully managed nourishment programme, preceded by a proper environmental assessment, may buy us a few years of stability. That window could allow time to craft stronger legislation and begin the groundwork for managed retreat.
Alongside this, Goreau’s proposed biorock reef regeneration offers a longer-lasting solution. By rebuilding the reef, we rebuild the beach’s natural defence. One measure buys us time; the other works to restore what was lost.
The path forward won’t be simple. But if we’re willing to rethink what luxury means, accept the limits of permanence, and invest in restoration as well as retreat, we may still have a chance to protect what remains of Seven Mile Beach — for ourselves, and for those who come after.
Before it’s a legend
If we wait, Seven Mile Beach will become a story. West Bay Road will become a seawall. Ghostly hotel ruins will jut from the sand.
Sic transit gloria mundi. Thus passes the glory of the world.
We tried to force permanence on something inherently temporary. It didn’t work. The question now is: will we act to protect what’s left?
Or are we ready to lose it all?
Matthew Feitelberg is a Sustainability Ambassador for Sustainable Cayman
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Category: Science & Nature, Viewpoint
Mother nature reclaiming what is rightfully hers. Current structures under construction cannot heed what has already been made clear? Let them crumble.
Mark my words, let’s see how the ruling families of these islands get paid TWICE.
First for the land they sold to rich morons on the beach side, and then second when they sell or lease all the land they horded on the land side of WBR after they force them off the beach through Parliament now. Smartest guys in the room.
Any foreigner that thinks Caymanians are stupid really should take a look in the mirror, they’d give the top men of Enron a really good run for the money.
It should not be a government or public spend at all. The issue is not that we are losing beach, its that the beach would be there if the buildings were not. this is an issue for each strata to resolve. If they were built further back, as had been planned in the 1970’s, with the road between all buildings and the beach, we would not have this issue – YES, the beach would naturally ebb and flow in depth, but we’d have a buffer of probably 500ft more, and hence we would always have beach. But oh no, the developers, CIREBA and related politicians couldn’t care less about long term, just want their sales and commissions short term.
Let each strata slowly move back – which basically means selling out. How Lacovia are selling units is beyond me as they’re going to be looking like Royal Palms in 5 years.
And we need to move the Governor residence and create a much larger public beach area. Govt should also use their rights of eminent domain and take the kaboo area back from Dart and make all that area public beach for ever. Enough with pandering to the chosen few. Start looking out for ourselves here Cayman, not the realtors and developers.
so there are other islands like the Turks + Caicos where the building setbacks are hundreds of feet and where they re not even allowed to cut a leaf of anything growing on the natural beach ridge YET they too have lost tens of feet of sand/land along the water mark. Not saying that building structures aren’t part of the erosion problem but maybe we need to expand our search; people constantly walking along the shoreline, water crafts pulling up then back off the shoreline – perhaps it’s a mix of things can be attributed to the loosening and erosion of the sand.
Get rid of the Sunset Cove “horse Shoe Groin” immediately, Should never have happened!
Grow coral on the groin?
Sounds itchy.
First the coral died from bleaching. I dived here for 40 years and have seen this with my own eyes.
Then the fish, especially the sand producing parrot fish, die or move away. I used to float near the reefs watching them nibble on coral and poop out fresh sand.
Hardly see that any more.
What you drinking? The parrot fish (and everything else) disappeared into fish tea. And all because we refused to enforce our laws.
Let’s not forget that a lot of sand was removed by Caymanians for construction. We need to figure out how to build back sand reserves that have either been taken out or washed away. This biorock reef idea looks like something good for everyone.
A wise man builds his house upon the rock… foolish men build theut hotels upon the sand. And the hotels became a new diving frontair.
When my late father arrived here in 1964 he wondered why Caymanians were not living on the Seven Mile Beach, boat launching, fishing. Dick, that was the answer he got!
Sand engines? Importing sand?
Listen to mother nature; she showed us many times that we are building too close to the sea! Mother Sea warned us and we took no advice. Think of the sea coming again and moving the buildings herself.
Maybe we will end up with a real “Sunken Hotel Site” – Seven Mile Beach beneath the waves. A new skindiver’s frontair.
Mistakes have been made. Now to address solutions or risk losing it all.
#savesevenmile…
#NotOnMyDime
#MarriotAndDartCanPayForTheirOwnShit
Didn’t they offer to pay already? Agree some of those bad actors need to take stock of how they are not helping and work towards either pulling down their sandcastle or paying 3x the share for the remediation.
They offered to “contribute” to remediation, but they should be the sole contributors. Their greed caused every one of their problems.
OK, so if they pay for the sand, we should pay for the reef?
Any time wave action on a beach is prevented from naturally dissipating its energy, it will scour sand away from that impediment.
Seawalls and other such structures should not be allowed, so that sand , brought in by waves, can be deposited.
If only common sense had prevailed. Everyone who has that gift knows that the only cause of loss of beach , is the buildings that are too close to the water line. This never happened at the start of the developement along the beach.Greed grabbed more water front and now they are paying the price. Make it mandatory to only build several feet away from the high water line. When Galleon Beach , Beach Club and several others were built back in the 50’s this was the rule, and nothing higher that the tallest tree in the area.Tourist will flock to a place that is unique, not a copy of where they have come from. It is so sad to see the stae the 7 mile beach is in parts. Do your best to regain that beauty
A multi-prong approach is required and there is some good suggestions in this article.
Another essential part of the approach is the ban on removing any marine life whatsoever from this side of the island (including shore fishing). It cannot be overstated how important it is for the health of coral to have fish cleaning the coral constantly. Especially fish that produce sand like parrot fish. Our fish populations have been decimated and without them you cannot have healthy coral let alone the production of sand.
In reality there should be a complete ban on removal of any marinelife from inside our reefs and perhaps within a 12 mile radius for a 5 year period to allow things adequate time to recover. The fisherman can still go offshore for their catches. I appreciate local fisherman, conch and lobster divers will be up in arms about this but the simple truth is we have utterly destroyed the marine life populations around Cayman and it is time to pay the price now before we lose everything. Just look at the health of Little Cayman reefs with its abundance of fish, conchs, lobsters etc and this just proves the point.
I hope common sense can prevail and that the new government can put into action immediate beach replenishment as a first step with the temporary and permanent multi-prong approach to follow that is needed urgently.
Make it a policy for ‘reef-safe’ sunscreen too.