Marine Environment
Blue Belt will help conservation effort
(CNS): The Cayman Islands’ marine environment and ecosystems have an estimated value of at least $1.1 billion, according to Premier Wane Panton, and becoming the latest British Overseas Territory to join the UK’s Blue Belt Programme will help expand the necessary conservation and protections in the face of climate change, which is predicted to exacerbate existing […]
Coral spawns in new specialist DoE lab
(CNS): The Department of Environment’s new Coral Spawning Lab was introduced to the community last week with an unexpected spawning event after laboratory adjustments of annual temperature in line with solar and lunar cycles triggered corals to spawn. The two coral labs were set up just a few weeks ago and filled with 256 gallons […]
UK offers support to protect Cayman’s deep ocean
(CNS): An upcoming workshop will explore opportunities for expanding deep-sea marine conservation efforts in the Cayman Islands with support from the United Kingdom’s flagship Blue Belt Programme. The workshop is part of a week-long series of events where local agencies will develop plans for safeguarding Cayman’s Exclusive Economic Zone waters from pollution, illegal fishing and […]
Sea temperatures put local coral at more risk
(CNS): The record-breaking local sea temperatures this summer have already gone beyond the threshold that coral reefs can comfortably tolerate, more than a month ahead of the expected seasonal peak. Department of Environment (DoE) Deputy Director Tim Austin, a marine scientist, has said this is causing real concerns. The DoE has been monitoring the marine […]
Fish return to Little Cayman but reefs still at risk
(CNS): The number of fish on the reefs off Little Cayman has nearly doubled since 1999, when the first marine protections were rolled out, according to the Annual Reef Report Card by the Central Caribbean Marine Institute. Research scientists at CCMI also found that the waters now contain roughly three times the total biomass of […]
DoE and coastguard contain sinking boat
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Coast Guard and the Department of Environment have teamed up to mitigate the potential spread of fuel and oil from a sinking vessel in the Governor’s Creek area. The 76-foot Cayman Mermaid was abandoned by its owners, Mermaid Cruises, several years ago. The DoE has deployed a 400ft boom to protect […]
Concerns raised as ship anchors close to dive site
(CNS): The Celebrity Equinox was anchored very close to the Devil’s Grotto dive site on Thursday, and local divers and operators were concerned that it could be damaging the reef and posing a danger to anyone diving in the area. While it turned out that the ship was within the port zone, the situation nevertheless […]
Local sea temperatures break records
(CNS): Local sea surface temperatures reached new highs this weekend, with Friday going down in the history books as the hottest 19 May since records began, according to figures from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The news comes as officials here begin hosting a series of public meetings to discuss the new draft […]
Dredging NS for cheap fill ‘unjustifiable’, says DoE
(CNS): The request by a speculative developer of a potential private retirement home to dredge the North Sound seabed to get cheap fill for the project should be rejected, the Department of Environment has urged in a review of the coastal works application. Technical experts detailed the environmental disaster such dredging would cause and said […]
Little Cayman is ‘national treasure’, says Premier
(CNS): Premier and Minister of Sustainability and Climate Resiliency Wayne Panton, who has officially endorsed the community-led nomination for Little Cayman to become a UNESCO World Heritage site, described the island as a national treasure. Thanking everyone involved in the bid, the premier said the existing protections on the island had helped in getting the […]
Little Cayman reefs on UK wishlist for UNESCO Status
(CNS): The United Kingdom has added Little Cayman Marine Parks and Protected Areas to its list of sites it is nominating to be given UNESCO World Heritage Status. About once per decade, the UK publishes its Tentative List of the sites believed to have the best chance of achieving this prestigious global status and joining […]
