Science and Nature
Stormy weather over Cayman
(CNS): After a quiet few weeks in the Atlantic region a number of storms and areas of low pressure are now swirling around the area. thenational hurricane centre in Miami was issuing advisories this morning on tropical depression fifteen located about 360 miles southwest of San Juan Puerto Rico and on Tropical Storm Nana about 1175 miles east of the Northern Leeward islands.
With a well-defined area of low pressure centred over the western Caribbean sea about 60 miles northeast of the Nicaragua-Honduras border moving slowly toward the west-northwest shower and thunderstorm activity was increasing it said. The centre predicted a tropical depression could form later today if the system remains over water. The centre noted too that regardless of whether or not this system becomes a tropical cyclone it is likely to produce locally heavy rains over portions of Nicaragua, Honduras and Belize over the next couple of days. The edge of this system is also passing over Cayman bringing plenty of stormy weather over the next few days.
A weak area of low pressure located south-southeast of dissipated Tropical Depression Nana and approximately 1125 mileswest of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands also continues to produce some thunderstorm activity mainly to the east of the centre, however, it will encounter unfavourable upper-level winds as it moves slowly north-north-eastward over the next day or two and significant development is not anticipated.
Cayman is also looking at plenty of stormy weather over the next few days.
NRA goes to war on nature
(CNS): Overgrown hedges protruding over fences, hedges planted beyond boundary lines and landscaping at the front of properties as well as large boulders placed at the roadside are among the target of a National Roads Authority (NRA) campaign to clear local roads of obstructions.
The NRA said it wished to remind the public that it is an offence to obstruct the roadside or road shoulder that fronts private properties. Familiar obstructions include overgrown hedges that protrude over fences or garbage receptacles positioned too close to the road among others.
The NRA said there were even more hazardous obstructions such as freight containers, often left on the road for off-loading in front of private properties. These pose a great risk for motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians, especially at night on narrow streets the NRA added.
The Authority stated that encroachments of sidewalks and road corridors comprise a violation of Section 16 of the Roads Law. Such infringements may also extend to landscaping efforts made on the narrow strips of ground fronting private properties.
“It may help to remember that the majority of Cayman’s roadways consist of a carriageway (for motor vehicles) and a narrow strip (usually 3-10 ft wide) for pedestrians,” said NRA Transportation Planner Marion Pandohie. “What is inside your property is yours to do with as you will, but land beyond your property or fence line is considered public roadway.”
Under the Roads Law, road encroachments can carry fines of up to $5,000 and after serving notice, the NRA may remove or reduce the obstruction at cost to the owner. The Authority will be systematically striving to address these infringements.
Antartica may become refuge
(Telegraph): Climate change will force refugees to move to Antarctica by 2030, researchers have predicted. Among future scenarios are the Olympics being held in cyberspace and central Australia being abandoned, according to the think tank report. Forum for the Future, a research body committed to sustainable development, said they wanted to stir debate about how to avert the worst effects of global warming by presenting a radical set of ‘possible futures’. Go to article.
Diversity of plant-eating fish key
(Science Daily): For endangered coral reefs, not all plant-eating fish are created equal. A report scheduled to be published this week in the early edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that maintaining the proper balance of herbivorous fishes may be critical to restoring coral reefs, which are declining dramatically worldwide. Go to article
Deathways Open Doors To Cultural Practices
(Science Daily): Cremation, "air burial," grave cairns, funeral mounds, mummification, belief in life after death — death practices sacred to one culture are often considered "odd" or even terrifying by another. The Greeks, for example, were fascinated with the historian Herodotus’ description of the ancient Issedonians chopping up their dead into a mixed grill and devouring them in a communal barbeque, something entirely contrary to the Greeks’ treatment of their own dead. Go to article
Farmers increasing stock
(CNS): Local farmers along with staff from the Department of Agriculture (DoA) have gone shopping in Florida for new livestock for the Cayman Islands. With some 90 to 100 head of new breeding stock, including both cattle and goats being purchased this will be the largest single importation of cattle into the Cayman Islands, even surpassing the 2005 post-Ivan livestock replacement initiative and is a response a growing demand for locally reared meat said the DoA.
This visit is the result of a request made by the Cayman Islands Agricultural Society to the Ministry to assist farmers to import new breeding stock to expand and upgrade local cattle and goat herds. Under the agreement made between the Ministry and the CIAS, farmers will select and purchase their own animals and have them delivered to the quarantine facility designated by the DoA. Once there, Government will then assume the cost of quarantining, export testing and shipping of the animals to the Cayman Islands.
“This arrangement, will allow local livestock farmers to obtain top-quality breeding stock at costs similar to those paid by farmers and ranchers in Florida,” explained Acting Director of Agriculture Brian Crichlow. “These private purchases, coupled with Government’s support, will give our farmers a cost-effective and affordable means to rapidly expand the size and quality of their breeding herds. This is essential if we are to meet the growing demand for local meats.”
In preparation for the planned shipment, some farmers have already made their own arrangements to purchase animals; while others are taking advantage of this week’s trip to make their selections and purchases. Once purchased, the animals will then go into quarantine staring on 20 October and all animals for import must be in the quarantine facility by 22 October. Once in quarantine, the animals will undergo rigorous mandatory tests to ensure that they meet the necessary health standards which will allow them to be safely exported to Cayman.
Strict quarantine and testing is essential as it serves to prevent the introduction of new pests and diseases which could affect local livestock or even potentially threaten the public health of the Cayman Islands population. Only when this process has been completed will the animals that have met the DoA’s stringent import health standards be shipped. The shipment is expected to arrive in early December.
Bahamas proposes ban on turtling
(CNS): The capture of all sea turtles could be banned in the Bahamas by April 2009, a move proposed by the islands’ Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources and supported by the Bahamas National Trust, which says that conservation of sea turtles requires multi-lateral cooperation to ensure their survival. (Left: a Green turtle poached from Cayman waters)
The proposed phased ban in the Bahamas full protection would immediately give protection to the Hawksbill Turtle which would be extended to the Olive Ridley and Leatherback turtles from 31 October this year. From 31 December 2008 the commercial harvest, purchase, or sale of all species of marine turtles found within the Bahamian exclusive economic zone, and/or of their by-products such as their shells would be prohibited.
From 1 April 3 2009 full protection would be extended to all marine turtles found in the exclusive economic zone by prohibiting the harvesting of all marine turtles except with the permission of the Minister for scientific research, public display or educational purposes.
In the Cayman Islands, about 10 people have licenses to catch Green or Loggerhead turtles, – taking Hawksbill Turtle is prohibited – and they are permitted to catch up to 4 turtles per year under the maximum allowable size of 24 inches curved shell length during open season, December through March.
Turtles must not be taken along West Bay Beach, in George Town Harbour, or in any of the bays or sounds within the reef, and cannot be slaughtered until inspected and approved by a Fisheries Officer. Licences to catch turtles are given at the discretion of the Marine Conservation Board. They cannot be inherited or passed on and no new licenses will be approved.
Poaching still occurs, however, and recently a poached female Green Turtle with a shell more than 4 feet long and weighing more than 400 lbs was recovered by the Department of Environment (DoE). Moreover, an autopsy showed the turtle was full of unlaid eggs when she died.
“This means that she was part of our critically endangered Cayman Islands nesting population,” according to a spokesperson at the DoE. “She is the largest green turtle DoE has ever documented nesting in the wild. She likely took two decades to mature and had already nested here for many years – helping our turtle populations to recover – and would have continued to nest for decades if she hadnot been killed.”
Also discovered with the poached green turtle was a green hatchling taken from a nest laid on Seven Mile Beach by a wild turtle. Only 1 in 1,000 hatchlings is estimated to survive to adulthood and it can take more than 20 years for turtles to reach maturity.
The DoE has satellite tracked the nesting green turtles that lay their eggs on Cayman shores to find out where they live when they are not nesting. The poached turtle likely lived in a distant foraging ground and migrated hundreds or thousands of kilometers to nest here each summer, according to the department.
In support of the propoed ban in the Bahamas, the Bahamas National Trust said in a statement, “Long-term studies at the BNTs turtle research centre on Inagua have demonstrated that while survival rates of sea turtles are high in protected areas, they plummet once the turtles begin their natural migrations and face exploitation by humans.
A hatchling sea turtle takes up to 30 years to reach reproductive age, and harvesting drastically reduces the number of nesting females that are available to produce eggs. And turtle eggs command veryhigh prices in some areas, which leads to over-harvesting. Moreover, since turtles lay their eggs on beaches, coastal development has significantly impacted this nesting habit, further reducing survival rates.”
The BNT also said that commercial harvest had a damaging effect on tourism. “The sight of turtles being butchered for meat, or being held waiting to be killed, is abhorrent to many people. Such views have a negative effect on tourists, particularly those who are attracted to The Bahamas for ecotourism.”
Conservation of sea turtles requires multi-lateral cooperation to ensure the survival of these highly migratory animals, the BNT said. “Turtles in The Bahamas are therefore a regional resource and we must join with our neighbors to protect this shared resource.
Fourth, turtles are important to the health of our marine ecosystems.”
Furthermore, the BNT said the proposals “also responds to concerns expressed by citizens and by local and International non-governmental organizations to the Government of The Bahamas calling for strengthened protection of marine turtles in The Bahamas.”
Humans at end of road
(AP): Human evolution is grinding to a halt, according to a leading genetics expert. The gloomy message from Professor Steve Jones is: this is as good as it gets. Prof Jones, from the Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment at University College London, believes the mechanisms of evolution are winding down in the human race. At least in the developed world, humans are now as close to utopia as they are ever likely to be, he argues. Go to article.
Turtle farm gets permit
(CNS): After operating in controvention of the Water Authority Law for several years the Cayman Islands Turtle Farm at Boatswain Beach in West Bay has finally been issued with a two-year discharge permit owing to what the Authority described as the farm’s commitment to meeting environmental impact requirements.
John Epp the complains commissioner undertook an own motion report into the Turtle Farm’s operations in January of this year because the farm was discharging water without a permit and not complying with the Water Authority law. The report found a series of problems at the multi-million-dollar facility including the unlicensed discharges of animal effluent into the sea. However, according to the Water Authority as a result of a year-long collaboration with the farm a permit was granted effective from 1 October 2008, for the wastewater from its turtle breeding pond and commercial turtle tanks.
The Authority noted that the permit is applicable to the current Turtle Farm only and any additional features and tenants, such as Dolphin Discovery, will require an application for a variation of the permit. It stated the permit had been issued under the law and was granted on the grounds that the Turtle Farm has demonstrated a commitment to reduce the impact of the Farm’s activities on the marine environment.
The authority said in a public release that several processes at the farm have been modified, that the required sampling and monitoring equipment has been purchased and installed and the services of experts in coral reef biology and aquaculture waste management have been retained.
However the farm is not there yet and the permit has been granted based on targets.
“Thanks to the Turtle Farm management’s commitment we now have a good understanding of the Turtle Farm operation and this allowed us to make informed decisions on the permitting requirements,” said Dr.
The releases stated that the Turtle Farm has reportedly already removed all wastes generated during the processing of turtle meat from their marine discharge and recently began testing bio-filters in their saltwater lagoon. Baffles have been installed in turtle tanks to reduce the outflow of excessive nutrients during feeding of the turtles. Additional measures to capture fine particles using various filters are planned. Implementation of the Waste Reduction Plan will include evaluation of the various measures and processes to optimize pollutant load reduction.
“The waste reduction requirement in the discharge permit is a necessary step because over the years the discharge of pollutants including organics, solids and nutrients, generated by the turtles at the farm have promoted an overgrowth of corals by algae in the nearby marine environment,” said Hendrik-Jan van Genderen, Water Resources Engineer for the Water Authority. “Reducing the pollutants will have the reverse effect in that the algae will die off and the environment will recover.”
Continuous monitoring by the Turtle Farm and the Water Authority over the course of the permit will provide the data necessary to determine effectiveness of the measures taken. Based on analysis of themonitoring results, the permit will be renewed after two years with revisions necessary to ensure continued improvement in the quality of the effluent discharge.
“We are committed to breeding endangered turtles, which we then release into the sea,” said Mr.
“It goes without saying that we are fully dedicated to doing everything we can to prevent damage to our marine environment so that the turtles can once again thrive. We have set ourselves a very aggressive internal target to reduce our environmental impact to zero percent even though the permit requires only 50percent The Cayman Turtle Farm is the world’s most unique turtle breeding facility and has the potential to become a leading scientific research site.”
For many years the nutrients in the water discharged from the farm have been undermining the local marine environment and whil Epp found in his report which was released in June of this year that the farm had failed to cooperate sufficiently with the Water Authority van Genderen said there had been a high level of cooperation between the Turtle Farm, Department of the Environment and the Water Authority over the past year.
“For their part the Department of the Environment was instrumental in reviewing data and identifying environmental impacts and threats. Although this has been a long process, mainly due to insufficient data inthe beginning, we are confident that we are now moving in the right direction,” he added.
The Authority also noted that the planned Dolphin facility, adjacent to Boatswain’s Beach and a tenant of the Turtle Farm property will be subject to the same regulations as the Turtle Farm’s discharge permit, which will require a variation. The Water Authority has taken an “end of pipe” approach, it said and all effluent waste is monitored and regulated at a single point of entry and exit to the property, which encompasses the Turtle Farm and all its tenants.
Google helps prevent drunk emailing
(The Independent): Google webmail service Gmail has announced that it is introducing a new feature to help users prevent themselves from sending inappropriate emails when drunk. Once activated, "Mail Goggles", as the service is known, prompts users to answer a series of mathematical questions before they are able to send an email. Go to article