Tag: Department of Environment
Turtle tangled in fishing line saved by DoE team
(CNS): On World Turtle Day, Friday 23 May, the DoE Turtle Team and Chief Conservation Officer Mark Orr managed to find and save the life of a turtle after it was badly tangled in fishing line. The rescue effort, triggered by a report about the animal being in distress, was a fitting reminder of the […]
Endangered rock iguana bounces back after cat cull
(CNS): The endangered Sister Islands Rock Iguana, which has been in steep decline for years, is making an impressive comeback on Little Cayman after the apparent success of a feral cat cull. According to the Department of Environment’s latest survey undertaken in March, the iguana population on the island has more than tripled in three […]
We are nurtured by nature
The Department of Environment writes: As the tops of a deep-sea, underwater mountain range, the Cayman Islands evolved in isolation for millions of years. As animals and plants found their way across the sea to our shores, they brought new life to the land, which over time developed many unique and biodiverse ecosystems. As humans […]
Loggerhead turtles lay first nests of season
(CNS): The first turtle nest of the season was found by the Department of Environment’s volunteer team on Cayman Brac last month, and just a day later, the first nest on Grand Cayman was discovered. As the season gets underway, six loggerhead turtle nests have been found on five different beaches so far. Female loggerheads […]
CPA hearing airport expansion plan in campaign period
(CNS): On Wednesday, the Central Planning Authority will hear an application made by consultants representing the Cayman Islands Airport Authority to expand the apron at the end of the runway at the Owen Roberts International Airport, pushing it into an area of mangrove buffer and woodland. This application is a small slice of the plan […]
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.
Man arrested for poaching 70 conch in marine park
(CNS): A Department of Environment conservation officer was injured by a suspected poacher when he arrested the man for taking conch from a marine park. The DoE said the man was arrested last week after he was found in possession of 70 conch poached from the Marine Protected Area in Barkers, West Bay. He can […]
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 […]
Controlling invasive species helps Little Cayman flourish
(CNS): After a steep decline in the population of the unique and endangered Sister Islands rock iguana, they and other indigenous species are thriving again on Little Cayman due to the work done by the Department of Environment to control invasive species. The island was once an untouched haven for native species and virgin habitat, […]
CPA spent almost $1M in losing battle with NCC
(CNS): A partial release in response to a freedom of information request relating to the Cayman Islands Government’s battle, through the Central Planning Authority, with its own conservation law and the National Conservation Council revealed that it has cost the public purse close to CI$1 million. The request for information didn’t result in a full […]
Mailer: It’s ‘blindingly obvious’ NCA not stalling development
(CNS): Stuart Mailer, the chair of the National Conservation Council, hit back on Wednesday at the false narrative being peddled by developers and politicians that the National Conservation Act was slowing down economic development. As he opened the NCC general meeting, he said the rate and scale of physical development taking place in the country […]
