Marine Environment
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.
Permits waived for owners to clean up 7MB debris
(CNS): The Ministry of Sustainability and Climate Resiliency (MSCR) has announced that due to erosion and “other storm-related impacts” that affected the southern end of Seven Mile Beach this month, owners do not need a coastal works permit to clean up their property. A combination of over-development, sea-level rise and the unusual storms in our […]
Royal Palms falls into sea ahead of renovation
(CNS): Pictures and videos circulating on social media over the last few days show the derelict buildings at Royal Palms crumbling into the sea following the Cayman Islands’ brush with Tropical Storm Helene, as the erosion on the southern end of Seven Mile Beach reaches unprecedented levels. However, Dart officials say the building, which is […]
Baby turtles don’t need help to make it to sea
(CNS): The Department of Environment is urging the public not to try to help or interfere with baby turtles as they hatch from their nests. The experts explained that the little creatures don’t need help, and attempting to dig them out of the sand can cause more harm than good. Only DoE teams are authorized […]
Marine survey will map deep water around Cayman
(CNS): A privately funded comprehensive marine survey of the Cayman Islands Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is currently underway. Although the UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) conducted a seabed mapping survey of these islands in November 2021, this new survey by Saildrone will explore deeper waters within our EEZ, according to the Lands and Survey Department.
Cabinet approves damaging marine park dredging
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Government has given the green light for a private developer of a subdivision to dredge a canal in a marine protected area and mangrove buffer that the Department of Environment warned will cause serious and significant damage to a wide swathe of important and unique marine habitat. Against the clear advice […]
Cabinet OKs ‘damaging’ East End shoreline project
(CNS): Cabinet has granted a coastal works licence for a groyne and the excavation of swim areas along the beachfront of the Wyndham Reef Resort in East End despite clear recommendations from the Department of Environment several years ago that the application should be denied because of the potential damage to the marine environment and […]
