Tag: Department of Environment
Heat and salinity kill off fish in Brac pond
(CNS): Hot, dry weather in Cayman Brac, which missed out on last weekend’s rain, and a rise in salinity at the Westerly Ponds seem to be behind the death of dozens of fish. Early investigations by the Department of Environment point to a significant fall in the water level at the ponds due to the […]
New coral disease found off north coast
(CNS): Department of Environment researchers believe that Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD), a major threat to coral reefs in the region, has turned up in local waters. Following a potential disease report by Tom Byrnes from Cayman Marine Lab on 21 June, the department’s own marine experts visited the location off the north coast […]
DoE enlists divers to track coral disease
(CNS): The Department of Environment is asking divers and snorkellers, as they return to the water, to look out for any evidence of a new lethal coral disease. Scuba diving was allowed in Cayman this week for the first time since March, and researchers need people to report any signs of the latest threat to […]
Cops lend hand in protecting turtles
(CNS): Unable to call on their usual army of some 70 volunteers because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Environment has enlisted the help of the RCIPS to monitor turtle nesting sites this season, which began at the beginning of last month. Some exemptions were granted for DoE staff to monitor beaches but crews […]
NCC and DoE urge move to green economy
(CNS): As Cayman emerges from the social and economic shutdown in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, local environmental experts are urging government to make it a “truly sustainable economic recovery” and use this opportunity to reset. Cayman needs to turn away from traffic-gridlock, over development and mass tourism towards climate-sensitive and resilient systems, according […]
Fishing line claims life of turtle
(CNS): The Department of Environment has sent the body of a mature, adult female hawksbill turtle, which was killed when its neck and front flipper became entangled in lost or discarded fishing line, to St Matthew’s University Veterinary School. The critically endangered turtle was found on Tuesday by staff from Harbour House Marina, who assisted […]
DoE predicts bad year for sargassum
(CNS): The troublesome seaweed that has plagued Caribbean beaches for several years now is back in Cayman and the Department of Environment predicts that this could be another very bad year for sargassum on the local shoreline. Last year government invested significant public cash into trying to keep beaches clean without eroding them and created […]
Nurse shark killed in ghost net
(CNS): A couple paddle-boarding in South Sound on Saturday alerted the Department of Environment about a ghost net floating in the sea that had ensnared several sharks, one of which was dead.
First green turtle nest spotted early
(CNS): Department of Environment researchers have documented the first wild green turtle nest of the 2020 nesting season. The nest was spotted on Grand Cayman on 26 May, which is unusually early, as over the past 21 years of sea turtle monitoring only two other green turtle nests were found this early in the year. […]
Rocket debris found floating off Cayman Brac
(CNS): Two local fishermen came across some unusual debris last week while fishing off the southwest corner of Cayman Brac. The Department of Environment believes that the piece of metal that Larry and Tyrone Scott found is debris from a rocket launch in French Guyana at the end of last year, which delivered a number […]
DoE still watching out for stingrays
(CNS): The Department of Environment has continued to watch out for the stingrays over the last two months since tourist trips to the Sandbar stopped. Staff from the DoE check on the rays, offering them a little human interaction and supplementing their diet. Until the marine restrictions are lifted and people can go back to […]
