Funding secured to protect local sharks

Researchers tag sharks in Cayman waters

(CNS): The Department of Environment has secured a funding award of around $300k to continue the study and conservation of local sharks and other big fish on Cayman’s reefs, which experts say are essential to the enhancement of reef resilience in the islands’ marine habitat. The two-year Darwin Plus Award will fund an ongoing project to track and gather research data on sharks, especially vulnerable species such as whitetip sharks, and grouper, as well as many other predator fish at the top of the reef food chain that are now in decline in local waters.

Both fishermen and divers will benefit from this the project because promoting the sustainable management of marine predators like sharks enhances Cayman’s delicate, vibrant and economically vital reefs. Healthy populations of these species are key to coral reef health, which is vital to tourists, resident divers, snorkelers and fishermen and important in withstanding climate change, explained DoE Director Gina Ebanks-Petrie.

“The award will support the National Conservation Law (NCL) by providing valuable data and information, to inform conservation plans for each of these key species, thus enabling Cayman to maintain sustainable and healthy reefs and fishing,” she said, noting that the funds would also allow them to take forward the work undertaken by DoE and the Marine Conservation International (MCI) on earlier Overseas Territories Environment Programme (OTEP) awards.

Ebanks-Petrie said some of the species that will be monitored appear on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.

“On the current IUCN Red List, oceanic whitetip sharks and grey snappers are listed as vulnerable species, and tiger and Caribbean reef sharks as listed as near-threatened,” she said. “Locally, we also know that grouper and snapper species, which are some of our most important commercial reef fish, appear to be in decline, along with sharks, in Cayman’s waters.”

DoE Deputy Director Tim Austin said the effort would inform government’s commitment to ensure the protection and restoration of key habitats and species.

“The research we’ll conduct as a result of the Darwin Plus Award is especially timely, now that the National Conservation Law (NCL) protects all sharks from deliberate take anywhere in Cayman waters,” Austin added.

The award from Darwin Plus is £173,439, which will supplement around £115,201 of local in-kind contributions of DoE staff and boat time, for a total of £288,640 — or about CI$370,600. The partners with the DoE involved in the project include Marine Conservation International, Bangor University and the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation.

MCI Co-Director Dr Mauvis Gore said the fieldwork already started at the end of April.

“The first phase will include tagging a small number of sharks, snapper and grouper to understand their movement locally and regionally,” she explained. “In part this work is only possible in the Cayman Islands because of the array of hydrophones — microphones that detect sound waves under water — the DoE has deployed as part of this and other projects, allowing the project to acoustically tag and track the reef sharks, snapper and grouper around the three Cayman Islands.”

Dr Gore added that for the pelagic or open water sharks, satellite trackers, like the ones deployed during the last two fishing tournaments by the Guy Harvey Research Institute, in collaboration with this project, will be used to follow their movements around the Caribbean and beyond.

“Estimates of the population numbers and DNA analysis will allow the team to assess the extent of population exchange with other Caribbean areas, and the ability of Cayman’s sharks and reef fish to rely on local reproduction to maintain population levels,” she said.

Survey dives and the use of baited underwater video cameras will allow the team to make population abundance estimates of the various reef species being studied, providing information important for the management of these and related species.

Ebanks-Petrie said the research team will enlist the expertise of local fishermen to take gut samples of grey snappers and tiger groupers to determine what these important reef predators feed on. The fishermen will also be involved later in the project, once the biological data is collected, when considering possible management options to help sustain the local reef fisheries and reef health.

For more information about this award and DoE’s programme, visit www.doe.ky.