Tag: Department of Environment
Swimmer gets between barracuda and dinner
(CNS): A man who was swimming off Seven Mile Beach by the Westin Hotel on Friday appears to have been bitten by a barracuda, according to officials from the Department of Environment (DoE), but they said it was very unusual and there was no cause for people swimming or enjoying other water activities in the area […]
DoE confirms coral damage from Kittiwake
(CNS) UPDATED: The Department of Environment completed a preliminary assessment Monday of the damage that the sunken wreck, USS Kittiwake, has caused to coral in the area after the artificial reef shifted during the recent high seas from Tropical Storm Nate. Officials said the wreck’s movement impacted some of the adjacent living coral reefs and early […]
Dozens of hatchlings killed due to bad lighting
(CNS): Researchers at the Department of Environment are calling for more owners of beachfront property to install turtle-friendly lighting after more than 60 endangered baby green turtles were found dead on the West Bay Road last week. The hatchlings were disoriented by lights near their nests in the West Bay cemetery area, but the DoE […]
Nine ‘blues’ released as conservation battle continues
(CNS): Researchers with the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme recently released nine more young blue ignanas into the wild at the Colliers Reserve in East End. But officials are warning that despite the overwhelming success of the project, which that has seen the iconic indigenous iguana brought back from the brink of extinction, the battle is […]
Cullers bag 8,500 iguanas as DoE mulls options
(CNS): Around 8,500 green iguanas have been culled over the last few months since a pilot seasonal cull of the invasive species began on Grand Cayman in May. The Department of Environment has announced an extension of the cull and said registered cullers will be able to continue bagging the pesky reptiles, at $2 a […]
Developer rips up slice of North Side coast
(CNS): A developer has been ripping up the ironshore along a stretch of coast in North Side without the requisite permission, according to officials. A concerned CNS reader sent pictures of a digger on the coast tearing up the natural rock formation, which the Department of Environment (DoE) has said is a major threat to […]
DoE and vets rush to save poached turtle
(CNS): An adult female wild green turtle, estimated at over 400 lbs, was saved from the poacher’s knife yesterday after DoE enforcement officers Carl Edwards and Alan MacKay responded to a report in the Eastern Districts. The turtle was found on her back in a tool shed impaled through the neck and flippers by four […]
DoE urges caution over seaweed removal
(CNS): Beachfront and tourism property owners are being urged to be cautious if they are removing Sargassum seaweed from the beach. According to the Department of the Environment, with the recent influx on Grand Cayman’s southern coasts, some owners are attempting to remove it but this can have a very destabilising effect on beaches unless […]
Brac conservation consultation in works
(CNS): The National Conservation Council is about to begin a new consultation process to place a number of important natural and cultural sites on Cayman Brac under legal protection. This follows the process on Grand Cayman in which the then environment minister, Wayne Panton, presented five sites to Cabinet and successfully secured orders for the […]
NCC stands firm on EIA for 7MB
(CNS): The National Conservation Council and the Department of Environment are standing by their advice that government require an environmental impact assessment before it allows the Dart Group to dig up Grand Cayman’s famous Seven Mile Beach. With the National Conservation Law under threat, a new environment minister who has no track record on environmental […]
Turtle friendly lighting
The Department of Environment writes: We appreciate the need for security and fortunately studies show that turtle friendly lighting does not compromise security and safety. Turtle friendly lighting does not mean that beach front properties must be dark – instead, lights can be directed to illuminate only areas of the property that are used and […]
