Marine Environment
OfReg says oil tanker did not leak fuel after grounding
(CNS): The Utility Regulation and Competition Office (OfReg) has begun inquiries into the incident involving the Sea Elephant, an oil tanker that ran aground off the coast of Cayman Brac on 7 July. In a short release about the investigation, OfReg said there had been no reports of any fuel spills but the grounding had […]
Fuel tanker runs aground on Cayman Brac’s reef
(CNS): An oil tanker called the Sea Elephant ran aground off the eastern shore of Cayman Brac on Saturday afternoon, damaging both the ship and the reef. Officials said the maritime incident happened while the ship was delivering diesel to the island. On Sunday night, it was reported that there had been no fuel leakage […]
LC reefs may fare better in face of bleaching event
(CNS): As coral reefs around the world, including those in Cayman Islands waters, face another bleaching threat this year, scientists at the Central Caribbean Marine Institute believe the reefs around Little Cayman may prove more resilient than others in the region because they are healthier and face fewer stressors than other reefs.
First sea turtle sniffer dog deployed on GC beaches
(CNS): The Department of Environment and the volunteers with its Marine Turtle Beach Monitoring programme have a new team member this turtle nesting season: Bell, Cayman’s first sea turtle detection dog. DoE Coral Reef Management team member and part-time Turtle Team member Stephanie Gunby has spearheaded a pilot study to train her golden retriever to […]
Loggerhead turtle rescued from man-made groyne
(CNS): A female loggerhead turtle that tried to nest on a beach became trapped in a man-made groyne and was rescued by members of the public and conservation officers Tuesday morning. The Department of Environment said this was an unfortunate example of why man-made structures on nesting beaches are so dangerous for these endangered species.
Global coral bleaching will degrade local reefs
(CNS): The Cayman Islands is facing the possibility of further degradation of its reefs as another coral bleaching event is impacting reefs around the world this year. According to experts at the Department of Environment, our coral reefs are slowly dying, and every year we can expect fewer of them to bounce back for another […]
Choice of national dish leaves bad taste for some
(CNS): Since CNS published an article last week about the additions to the list of national symbols, readers have been debating the Cayman Islands Government’s decision to make Turtle Stew the official national dish, and most of the 200+ comments on the story were about this choice. Many were surprised that an endangered species was […]
NOAA: World on brink of mass coral bleaching event
(CNS): The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has warned that the world is on the brink of a fourth mass coral bleaching event in which a significant amount of tropical reefs might die. After months of record-breaking ocean heat resulting from climate change and the El Niño climate pattern, Derek Manzello, the coordinator of […]
Fish in quiet waters increased threefold during lockdown
(CNS): When compared to data from 2018, there was a significant increase in reef fish biomass in the waters off Grand Cayman during the COVID-19 lockdown, according to research published in the scientific journal Nature Scientific Reports. Researchers from the Central Caribbean Marine Institute found that fish in and around the George Town Harbour increased […]
Beachgoers warned to watch out for toxic man-o’-war
(CNS): The Department of Environment is warning people that it has received a number of reports of Portuguese man-o’-wars (Physalia physalis) washing up on South Sound beaches as a result of the recent weather conditions. The highly toxic siphonophores, which are not jellyfish but complex colonies of organisms, should never be touched.
CCMI partners with bank in blue carbon off-set scheme
(CNS): The Central Caribbean Marine Institute (CCMI) is collaborating with Butterfield Bank to find out how a carbon offset and ecosystem-based restoration scheme can be put into practice in the Cayman Islands to mitigate climate change. The negative effects of the increasing temperatures and other changes are becoming more visible, especially in vulnerable habitats like […]
