Tag: Department of Environment
FIN project in breach of planning approval
(CNS): Developers behind the FIN Grand Cayman luxury condominium project appear to be in breach of the conditions relating to their planning approval. The Department of Environment has not received the construction environmental management plan or the operations environmental management plan, both of which the developers were required to submit before any work began on […]
After-fact primary habitat removal to be approved
(CNS): Yet another after-the-fact application for the removal of primary habitat on a site off the Queen’s Highway is set to get the green light this week, with the landowner facing no more than a $1,000 fee for the unlawful clearance. The planning department recommended that an application by Eric James Bergstrom-Grant Management for the […]
Visiting pod of killer whales caught on camera
(CNS): The Department of Environment has posted captivating drone video footage of a pod of orcas about two miles off the coast of East End last week. There were at least ten of these ‘killer whales’ in the pod, which are infrequent visitors to our waters. The footage was taken by Chris Briggs and given […]
Turtles still at risk despite record year
(CNS): This year’s turtle nesting season may be a record-breaking year for the number of nests but experts at the Department of Environment are reminding residents that there are still a number of preventable threats for turtles, particularly artificial lighting, which lures the babies as they hatch away from the relative safety of the sea […]
Eden Rock coral smothered in boat incident
(CNS): The Department of Environment is calling on all experienced divers to help save coral at Eden Rock today, following a recent tug and ship encounter in the George Town Harbour, in which a large amount of sand from the seabed was churned up and deposited on live coral, blocking out the sun. The sand […]
DoE ‘quarantining’ diseased coral
(CNS): Scientists at the Department of Environment have begun a delicate operation to prevent the spread of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) found off the north coast of Grand Cayman. In an effort to stop the disease infecting any more reefs, experts are removing the affected coral and ‘quarantining’ it on land for potential […]
DoE battles threat posed by developments
(CNS): The Department of Environment has made several submissions for the Central Planning Authority to consider when it hears applications today, in a bid to save critical habitat and encourage developers to mitigate the environmental threats their projects pose. DoE concerns about some of these applications include swimming pools that will erode beaches and unnecessary […]
CPA to hear Balboa Beach after-the-fact application
(CNS): Ten years after the Central Planning Authority issued after-the-fact permission to the owners of Balboa Beach for an original take-away restaurant and following five enforcement notices and six infractions of the planning law, the owners of the waterfront site have made another application seeking permission for work done without authority. The application, which is […]
Sperm whales spotted in local waters
(CNS): The Department of Environment has confirmed that two whales, a mother and calf, spotted recently and videoed by a Red Sail crew were sperm whales. “DoE has reached out to our regional partners and we can confirm that this video is of a beautiful mother sperm whale and her baby,” the department stated in […]
NCC votes for increased turtle protection
(CNS): A green turtle narrowly escaped poachers in West Bay recently after a member of the public called 911 to report an attempt to steal her away as she came onto the beach to nest. Conservation officers responded quickly and got her back in the sea, and then watched the beach through the night. However, […]
Green turtle rescued from cemetery
(CNS): An endangered green turtle was rescued from a cemetery on Sunday by a volunteer with the Department of Environment after the animal became disorientated and got trapped between graves. Amanda Brown found the turtle on her beach walk at the cemetery in West Bay. This is another example of how beachfront development and the […]
