Science & Nature
Local grouper sites offer hope for species survival
(CNS): With the Nassau grouper recently elevated to the ‘critically endangered’ list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the strongest warning it issues that a species is facing an extremely high risk of extinction, the spawning sites around the Sister Islands offer the last hope for the survival in the region of these iconic reef […]
Law requires public scrutiny of final port design
(CNS): The Department of Environment has said that when a developer for the George Town cruise and cargo project is selected, the final design must go through another environmental impact assessment, which will require public consultation. DoE Director Gina Ebanks-Petrie said that the previous assessment was for a design that is no longer under consideration, […]
Listen Up! Barkers under threat
(CNS Podcast): In this pilot episode of the CNS podcast “Listen Up!”, which will be a frequent but not necessarily regular feature on Cayman News Service, we take a closer look at what’s happening at Barkers Beach. The proposed development in this area has been in the news lately and has caused quite a stir […]
More hands needed to keep iguana cull on track
(CNS): The Department of Environment is making another call for more registered green iguana cullers, as the number of the invasive species being killed has begun to decline. The current group of cullers has managed to remove around 350,000 iguanas during the island-wide effort to massively diminish the population and reduce the negative impact they […]
Blues get over $200k for future conservation
(CNS): The Blue Iguana Recovery Programme, which has saved Grand Cayman’s iconic and endemic iguana from extinction, has received a welcome grant of over CI$212,000 as it moves into Phase II of this critically important conservation project. The money has come from the the Darwin Plus Initiative, a UK-based grant scheme that helps to protect biodiversity and […]
Cayman to get good view of super-moon lunar eclipse
(CNS): Star-gazers in Cayman are set to have a great view of a lunar eclipse of the full moon, which is also a super-moon, when it’s at its closest point to the earth in its orbit, as weather conditions are forecast to be clear. The eclipse will begin around 10:30pm Sunday night and take about […]
OfReg gives nod to CUC plan to ease off fossil fuels
(CNS): The utilities regulator, OfReg, has accepted a plan submitted by the Caribbean Utilities Company (CUC) that sets out a road-map for future energy use and a transition from a fossil fuel based portfolio to one dominated by renewable energy, introducing natural gas and increasing the storage and baseload of renewable generation technologies. The plan was prepared by […]
Panton warns of tourism conflict
(CNS): Former environment minister Wayne Panton has expressed concerns that the proposed cruise berthing development in George Town and the number of passengers needed to support it could cause serious conflict within Cayman’s tourism product. Panton is well respected for his knowledge of conservation issues and, as a Cabinet minister in the last administration, steered […]
MOT makes unsupported claims about port
(CNS): The tourism ministry issued a press statement Monday making unsubstantiated claims about the impact of potential future weather events if and when the George Town cruise port is constructed. The short statement claimed that fears the cruise berthing facility and cargo port could exacerbate flooding in instances of extreme weather were incorrect because unidentified engineers […]
Oceans heating up 40% faster than last predictions
(CNS): Scientists working in the field of climate change have found that the Earth’s oceans are heating up far more rapidly than predictions made just five years ago. Because the seas absorb most of the heat-trapping gases generated by human activity, the oceans are a better yardstick for climate change than surface temperatures, and researchers […]
Regional forecast warns of more drought for Cayman
(CNS): In a regional weather outlook published this week, the Barbados-based Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) has predicted continued drought and dry spells across many parts of the region for the first quarter of 2019, largely due to the emerging El Niño. The regional weather experts pointed out that the Cayman Islands is one […]
