Marine Environment
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 […]
Reef expert to present cruise impact on marine life
(CNS): Renowned marine scientist and coral reef expert Dr Tom Goreau will be visiting the Cayman Islands this month to join the line-up of speakers at next week’s Cruise Port Referendum Cayman (CPR) rally to help voters understand the threats associated with the development of cruise berthing facilities on marine environments. Goreau is the president […]
DoE promotes need for science in managing environment
(CNS): The three Cayman Islands have the largest remaining active Nassau grouper spawning aggregation site in the region. They also have an increasing nesting population of wild sea turtles and have brought the iconic blue iguana back from the brink of extinction. All of this and more has been achieved because of science-based decisions.
Young turtle dies slow death at hands of poachers
(CNS) A young female turtle, estimated to be between ten and fifteen years old, was recently killed by poachers but died a slow death after she was speared through her shell multiple times with a double-pronged spear. The Department of Environment said that conservation officers found the green sea turtle last week after a report […]
CCMI alarmed by UPM attack on conservation
(CNS): The Central Caribbean Marine Institute, a non-profit conservation and research facility on Little Cayman, has said the proposed changes to the National Conservation Act could have “catastrophic and destructive implications for the environment”. CCMI said in a release that the amendment bill paves the way for Cabinet “to make irresponsible decisions regarding environmental health […]
Experts wanted to tackle 7MB ‘chronic’ erosion
(CNS): The Department of Environment and the Ministry of Climate Resiliency have engaged in a procurement process to find quotes from qualified consultants to take the first step towards tackling the erosion of a 4,500-foot stretch of Seven Mile Beach. According to documents posted on the government’s procurement site, the goal is to restore and […]
7MB erosion now a priority for UPM, says minister
(CNS): Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan has revealed that the minority UPM government is working on a public-private partnership of some kind to undertake an undefined replenishment project to address what he said was the national emergency of erosion on Seven Mile Beach.
Dart seeks to avoid beach retreat with unproven concept
(CNS): The Dart Group has begun circulating a video on social media that rejects the idea of a managed retreat combined with imported sand replenishment to address the erosion problem on Seven Mile Beach in favour of ‘sand engines’, a scientific solution developed in Europe. Dart hired Denmark-based consultants DHI to conduct a study of […]
Loss-making Turtle Centre seeks to increase appeal
(CNS): As the Cayman Turtle Centre in West Bay continues to lose millions of dollars every year, the beleaguered tourist attraction is looking for marketing experts to elevate its appeal, revamp the entire product, overhaul the website and help it make money, including encouraging donations. According to documents on the procurement website, the CTC is […]
Experts advised Royal Palms seawall be 22m further back
(CNS): Engineers who examined a coastal works application submitted around two years ago by Dart, which owns the derelict Royal Palms site, advised the developer that any replacement seawall should be as much as 22 metres further away from the beach behind the original bar building. As Dart now faces an order to remove the […]
Study will fill data gap on endangered local sharks
(CNS): The Department of Environment (DoE) has secured UK funding for pop-off satellite archival tags to study the movements of Caribbean reef sharks (Carcharhinus perezi) in the ocean around the Cayman Islands. Due to their ecological and socio-economic significance to Cayman, all sharks are protected species and are now considered endangered.
