Science and Nature
Official app gives up to the minute local weather
(CNS): The Cayman Islands National weather service has launched a new free-to-download mobile app with a simple interface giving up-to-the-minute updates on weather throughout the day. Available for iOS, blackberry and android platforms it includes the temperature, conditions, precipitation or cloudiness, the current radar images, the 5 day forecast with wind speed and direction, sea conditions and times for sunrise and sunset. “When people are going about their daily business they want a forecast that will indicate possible weather changes in the future,” said National weather service Director General John Tibbetts.
“With this in mind, the app gives users three options enabling them to check for either the current weather, current radar or a 5 day forecast,” he added.
Tibbetts explained that the current radar tab provided a graphical image of possible rainfall over and around the Cayman Islands, while the five day forecast gave a summarised overview of anticipated weather conditions for the week ahead. During hurricane season or in instances where severe weather is anticipated, the app will also carry marine and flood warnings as well as hurricane warnings to ensure residents can be informed and prepared.
“The weather app is a convenient portal for getting weather information that is specific to the Cayman Islands out to the general public and is intended to service a number of needs,” said the tourism minister Moses Kirkconnell, whose portfolio includes the National Weather Service.
“As well as enhancing people’s safety both on land and at sea by alerting them of impending weather events, the forecasts also have significant relevance to the aviation industry and can evenhelp to reduce uncertainty when planning ahead for events by allowing time for contingencies to be put in place if needs be,” he added.
The app was developed as part of the Weather Radar Project which gave the Cayman Islands Airports Authority (CIAA) access to US$5.5 million (€4.16 million) from the European Commission (EC) for the purpose of the installation of an early warning Doppler radar system.
Cruise anchor hits reef
(CNS): The poor positioning of a cruise ship which arrived in George Town on Wednesday led to an anchor being dropped on the reef, which local divers say is happening all too frequently. Concerns were raised yesterday by a local operator and it is understood that following intervention from dive operators and the Department of the Environment the ship was eventually relocated by the Port Authority but not until after its massive anchor had been dropped on the coral for several hours. CNS contacted the Port Authority about the location of Carnival Magic but the questions have not been answered.
Local divers told CNS that this is far from an isolated incident and when they noticed the ship's anchor was dropped pretty far south of the usual anchorage #4 spot they contacted the port. They were assured that the anchor had been checked by the authority patrol and the anchor was on a sand patch and not the reef. However, the port officials also told the divers they could go check themselves and report any concerns to the DoE.
When the divers went to the area they found the anchor was on the coral and not the sand bed and as a result notified the port again and the DoE. The Department of Environment confirmed that they had then pressed for the boat to be relocated and moved away from the reef and into the normal location at anchor # 4.
Former turtle farm provides example for CTF
(CNS Business): A former sea turtle farm in the Reunion Islands in the Indian Ocean has successfully transitioned into a respected research centre where groundbreaking science is conducted but remains one of the islands' top tourist attractions. It also maintains the cultural heritage of the islands and their involvement with turtling, while continuing to employ people, according to Neil D’Cruze from World Animal Protection. See video
Lionfish CULL attacks reef pest
(CNS): Divers removed 579 lionfish with a total weight of more than 250 pounds from Cayman Islands reefs this weekend during the third lionfish tournament this year organized by CULL (Cayman United Lionfish League). Sixty scuba divers and free divers in 13 teams signed up for Cull #12 Summer Showdown to help get rid of the invasive and voracious fish and compete for the cash prizes on offer, according to the Cayman Islands Tourism Association, which supports the effort towards helping Cayman's underwater ecosystem. Afterwards, the reef pests were cooked up by the chefs at Rackams, who provided delectable sautéed lionfish on garlic crostinis. (See related video below)
This tournament saw CULL team up with ‘Culling For A Cause’ to sponsor ARK (Act of Random Kindness) by donating the remainder of the fish to the cause to retain the profits. One of the teams was even so generous to donate their own prize winnings to this noble cause.
Rackams again provided the headquarters for this tournament and registration took place on Thursday 14 August. The weigh-ins on Saturday and Sunday evening allowed teams to have their prize catches weighed and measured before being cooked up by the chefs at Rackams who provided delectable sautéed lionfish on garlic crostinis.
Gold sponsor Foster’s Food Fair donated $4,800 in cash prizesand $500 was awarded to each first place winner and $100 for each second place in four separate categories for both Scuba Diving and Free Diving divisions:
Scuba Divers:
• Most Lionfish:
– 1st Place – Ambassador Divers – 130
– 2nd Place – Team Lisa – 72
• Biggest Lionfish
– 1st Place – Ambassador Divers – 294mm
– 2nd Place – Hog Heaven – 293mm
• Smallest Lionfish
– 1st Place – Ball & Chain – 54mm
– 2nd Place – Ambassador Divers – 58mm
• Overall Weight
– 1st Place – Ambassador Divers – 32.2kg
– 2nd Place –Culling For A Cause – 13.6kg
Free Divers:
• Most Lionfish:
– 1st Place – Green Water – 130
– 2nd Place – Cayman Deep – 42
• Biggest Lionfish
– 1st Place – Cayman Deep – 304mm
– 2nd Place – Green Water – 297mm
• Smallest Lionfish
– 1st Place – Green Water – 49mm
– 2nd Place – Green Water – 60mm
• Overall Weight
– 1st Place – Green Water – 14.8kg
– 2nd Place – Cayman Deep – 9.4kg
New CITA Executive Director, Tiffany Dixon-Ebanks, said, “CITA is pleased to lend support to initiatives that will lead to the eradication of the Lionfish from our pristine waters. We would certainly like to extend congratulations to the CULL team for another successful event – good job! The CITA also extends thanks to Foster’s Food Fair for their generous sponsorship of this very worthy cause.”
The Cayman United Lionfish League thanked all sponsors who made this tournament possible, especially Foster’s Food Fair, as well as CITA, Rackam’s Waterfront Bar & Grill, Ambassador Divers, Vibe 98.9, Spin 94.9, DoE, Signs of Paradise and Monogram’s and More.
See CNS Library entry: Lionfish problem
Related video on CNS Business:
Turtle Farm not the sole focus of animal charity
(CNS Business): World Animal Protection (WAP), the international animal charity that has been critical of the Cayman Turtle Farm, doesn’t just focus on issues surrounding the CTF but deals with a range of different animal welfare issues around the world, ranging from the terrible conditions of farm animals, assisting with disaster management, as well as wildlife issues. For over a decade WAP has been working towards ending the problem of bear farming in South Korea, in Vietnam and in China, where bears are kept in cages and their gallbladders are drained on a regular basis to produce traditional Asian medicine. Watch video on CNS Business
Turtle Farm hiding behind ‘conservation curtain’
(CNS Business): The Cayman Turtle Farm claims to be a conservation facility but World Animal Protection (WAP) representative Neil D’Cruze says those claims may not be true and there may be an element of a “conservation curtain that is being hidden behind”. He said that the release of farmed turtles could be introducing disease to wild turtle populations. Watch video and comment on CNS Business
No formal steps by CIG on turtle meat for tourists
(CNS Business): World Animal Protection representative Neil D’Cruze, who was on Grand Cayman last week to meet with the Cayman Islands government, said that they were disappointed that they were not able to come to any formal agreement with CIG regarding the selling of sea turtle meat to tourists. However, he said some key restaurateurs indicated that they would be willing to stop putting turtle on the menu. Watch video on CNS Business
‘De-mucking’ operation at Saltwater Pond
(CNS): A “de-mucking” process at one of the wetland areas on Cayman Brac started last week to try to deal with the bad smell emanating from Saltwater Pond. However, although this was one of the main complaints of the owners of the adjacent Alexander Hotel, which closed its doors on 15 June, a spokesperson for the District Administration Ministry said that the owners have not indicated that this process will result in the re-opening of the hotel. While the Department of Environment was not apparently consulted, the ministry said that the de-mucking has been previously conducted on two separate occasions about 15 years ago with positive results in terms of reducing the stench emanating from the western end of the pond.
The Ministry of District Administration, Tourism and Transport authorized the Public Works Department to go through the de-mucking process “in an effort to bring some relief to the uncomfortable and obnoxious odor emanating from the sediment at the western end of the pond”, the spokesperson said.
The process requires some filling in of the pond to build a ramp at road level so that a back-hoe has access to scoop out the muck, and a truck can carry it away. Once the process is complete the fill will be removed, Environment Minister Wayne Panton told CNS. He said this was a short-term solution but they also needed to look at what steps can be taken for a more long term solution to the pond smell.
The DA Ministry spokesperson said, “The build-up of muck/sediment and the resulting odor has been a concern for some time. Consequently the decision was taken, in consultation with District Administration, to commence the de-mucking exercise. Multiple complaints have been received from neighbouring property owners and other residents, who have asked that somethingbe done to address the problem.”
The de-mucking exercise is being funded by the government through District Administration, and is expected to be completed in approximately 3-4 weeks.
UK Tory MP backs no turtle meat for tourists
(CNS): A British Tory MP was in the Cayman Islands this week to lend his support to efforts being spearheaded by a UK animal charity to transition the Cayman Turtle Farm from a butcher's shop into a conservation facility. Dr Matthew Offord is also backing the campaign to persuade local restaurants to take turtle off the menu and stop promoting the meat to visitors. The Conservative back-bencher hosted a reception at Grand Old House, the first restaurant to stop promoting the meat, with the World Animal Protection (formerly the World Society for Protection of Animals) as the charity and the Cayman government resumed talks about the issue.
The ongoing animal welfare problems associated with the Cayman Turtle Farm, which is now the last place in the world commercially farming endangered green sea turtles, were at the top of the agenda at the event. Offord is a member of the UK parliament’s Environmental Audit Select Committee who is offering his support to talks about changes at the Farm.
Offord was one of the UK politicians on the committee involved in the Sustainability in the UK Overseas Territories report, which supported the findings of the WPA and its concerns about conditions at the Farm. The Committee has also raised the issue of the UK Government’s role as part of its ongoing discussions with the Cayman Islands Government.
Offord noted conservation efforts in Cayman and what he described as the "positive dialogue that is occurring between World Animal Protection and the Cayman Islands Government in addressing issues of sustainability at the Cayman Turtle Farm," adding that he was looking forward to its "cooperation in the future”.
Talks with the government will aim to build on positive measures agreed upon earlier this year, include the funding of research into the true local demand for turtle meat and the effectiveness of the Farm’s annual turtle release and the current suspension of that programme until the results of such research are available.
Dr Neil D’Cruze, Head of Wildlife Policy and Research at World Animal Protection, said, “We commend Dr Offord for his admirable advocacy on behalf of animal welfare, and are grateful to have had the opportunity to meet with Caymanian stakeholders to continue our discussions on how best to achieve positive change for green sea turtles.”
World Animal Protection has long advocated for the Cayman Turtle Farmnot to close but to transition into a true rehabilitation and release facility that fully protects sea turtles.
Concerned that the farm has no idea what the real demand for the meat is even from locals, De Cruze also said he was delighted to hear that the Department of the Environment has received funding from the UK's department of food and rural affairs' Darwin initiative to begin a comprehensive survey of that demand and research into the genetic profile of turtles nesting on the beaches to identify the connections of the local wild turtles to the Farm.
That project is unrelated to the WAP campaign and part of the DoE's broader research work into the endangered species and their survival in the wild. It is being led by Dr Ana Nuno from the University of Exeter and is expected to provide the first truly objective information about the origin of turtles that are breeding in local waters as well as get a true assessment of how much demand there is for meat and the issues surrounding poaching.
The WAP maintains that the CTF slaughters animals without properly assessing demand and also keeps huge numbers of the animals without knowing the true level of consumption and whether it is necessary to breed so many. D'Cruze said that any figures that can give a truer picture of how much and how many local people do eat the meat may help reduce the numbers held at the Farm.
Understanding that the effort to transition the facility to conservation will be a long process, he said that simply reducing the numbers, which are estimated to currently be more than 9,000 animals held at the Farm, would be a step in the right direction.
Plant Health Directors meeting in Cayman
(CNS): Plant Health directors from 34 countries and territories in the Caribbean along with delegates from regional and international organisations, government entities and universities gathered on Grand Cayman Tuesday morning to kick off the 7th Caribbean Plant Health Directors Meeting. The CPHD Forum will be held over four days to address issues relating to the health of and threats to flora in the Caribbean. Premier Alden McLaughlin told those in attendance that agriculture has always played a pivotal role in the Cayman Islands. “Here in the Cayman Islands we have a deep interest in the welfare of agriculture,” he said. “Ourfore bearers understood what it was to farm.”
The premier said the forum is important to bring the region together. “It is understood that each of us must be able to compete in the international marketplace, but unless we come together through venues like this forum, we cannot do so effectively,” he said. “It is because of working with others and sharing technical information that we were able to successfully combat pink hibiscus mealybug in 2006. Today we have a new pest, croton scale or sooty mold, to combat.”
Minister of Agriculture Kurt Tibbetts said the forum helps those in the region establish and maintain common standards when it comes to agriculture.
“The unity of purpose is an overarching concept that the Cayman Islands wholeheartedly endorses, as it has been critical to our success over the years,” Minister Tibbetts said. “Therefore, our government’s decision to host this meeting shows the extent of our commitment to these ideals.”
He said that agricultural issues encompass the cultural, economic and health concerns of everyone in the Cayman Islands. “As a result, we cannot overstate the importance of food and nutrition security,” he said. “The central role of agriculture includes reducing our dependency on imports and providing fresh, healthy food choices.”
He reiterated that it is important for the countries and territories to share information about threats to agriculture and said the Cayman Islands remains committed to maintaining a strong and effective plant protection and quarantine regime.
Because of the country’s vigilance in agriculture, the Cayman Islands was recognised by the Greater Caribbean Safeguarding Initiative and the Caribbean Plant Health Directors as the recipient of the Inaugural GCSI Safeguarding Award last year.
“But regional cooperation is more than a convenient activity … It is essential for us all, for none of us are immune from threats posed by new pests or invasive flora and fauna,” Tibbetts said.