Cayman Expands Marine Protection and No-Take and No-Dive Areas

[KathyV]

See links below:

Cayman’s marine parks system expanded, enhanced : Grand Cayman Department of Environment

Marine protection plan gets nod ten years on

Marine Parks

EDITORIAL – Protecting resources on paper, and in practice | Cayman Compass

Cayman Islands marine parks expansion, enhancement | IEyeNews

Cabinet greenlights expansion of no-fishing areas | Cayman Compass

 

[AggieDiver]

Interesting to see that the entire eastern end of Little Cayman is a no-dive zone. I have never been diving up there, so maybe it isn't much to begin with, but it seems like they would be setting up the perfect lionfish replenishment zone there by completely banning diving over such a large area.

Also seems like they are going to have so many different zones that all have to be marked with signs that they will be spending most of the enforcement budget maintaining signs and buoys.

 

[KathyV]

One of the articles has some details in the notes:

Cayman Islands marine parks expansion, enhancement | IEyeNews

"...Increased monitoring and enforcement is also planned to ensure this enhancement is effective, as the DoE has recently hired four new officers – two officers on Grand Cayman, one on Cayman Brac and one who will be made a conservation warden in Cayman Brac.

NOTES
ENVIRONMENTAL ZONE

• No taking of any marine life, alive or dead with no exceptions
• No in-water activities
• Speed limit of 5 m.p.h. or less
• No anchoring or tying to mangroves.

MARINE RESERVE ZONE

• No taking of any marine life alive or dead, including and extending from the shoreline to a depth of 150ft unless otherwise demarcated, except:

• catch-and-release fishing of select species
  • tarpon (Megalops atlanticus)
  • bonefish (Albula vulpes)
  • permit (Trachinotus falcatus)
• taking fry and sprat with a fry or cast net is permitted so long as (1) a cast net only is used while standing on the shore and (2) no more than 2.5 gallons per person per day of fry or sprats, inclusive of bycatch, are taken
• licenced lionfish cullers are permitted to kill and remove lionfish with approved methods
• No anchoring – use of fixed moorings only, except:

• boats of 60ft or less may anchor in sand, so long as no grappling hook is used, and neither the anchor nor the rope or chain will impact coral;
• anchoring permitted in designated Port anchorage areas—contact Port Security VHF Channel 16;
• anchoring prohibitions suspended during emergencies and by permission of Port Director;
• Bloody Bay, Little Cayman – no tourist boat shall enter the protected area without authorisation of the National Conservation Council and at a time, or in circumstances, where such entry is not permitted by the conditions of such a permit.

WILDLIFE INTERACTION ZONE

• No taking of any marine life, alive or dead
• No removing any marine life from the water
• No selling fish food from a boat
• No anchoring in water shallower than three feet or so that the anchor or boat is within 20 feet of any reef structure
• No feeding any marine life with food of any kind or of an amount or in a manner other than permitted
• Fish feeding is prohibited anywhere in Cayman waters outside a Wildlife Interaction Zone unless specially permitted
• No wearing any footwear in water shallower than four feet (which does not prohibit wearing of flippers while snorkelling in water deeper than four feet)
• No tourist boat shall enter the zone without authorisation of the National Conservation Council and at a time, or in circumstances, where such entry is not permitted by the conditions of such authorisation.

LINE FISHING ZONE

• No take of any marine life, alive or dead, from shore to 150ft depth, except in the below instances:
  • Line fishing is permitted;
  • taking fry and sprat with a fry or cast net is permitted so long as (1) a cast net only is used while standing on the shore and (2) no more than 2.5 gallons per person per day of fry or sprats, inclusive of bycatch, are taken;
  • licenced Lionfish cullers are permitted to kill and remove lionfish with approved methods
• Anchoring permitted;
  • Anchor, chain or line must not touch coral.

NO DIVING ZONE

• No SCUBA diving without permission

Spawning Aggregation (SPAG) ZONE

• No fishing, no diving, no anchoring, In effect from December through April, inclusive, between the 50ft and 200ft depth contours, inclusive.

SHORE LINE FISHING ZONE

• Fishing from shore only is these areas.

PORT ANCHORAGE AREA

• These are enforced by the Port Authority, Cayman Islands but are listed on the Marine Parks map for clarity and use reference.

PORT CONTROL ZONE

• These are enforced by the Port Authority, Cayman Islands but are listed on the Marine Parks map for clarity and use reference.

END"

 

[KathyV]

duplicate deleted

 

[KathyV]

Ten Cayman Dive Sites Will be Closed to Scuba Divers Due to the New Marine Park Rulings:

Nine sites will close to divers on Grand Cayman and one site will close on Little Cayman (Blacktip Tunnels on the east end of the island).

Ten Cayman dive sites to close under new Marine Park Enhancements

I know that during the debates before the government approved the expansion plan there was concerns voiced that the famous Babylon site would become a no-dive zone, but I don't know if that is true.

 

[k4kafka]

All this plus the maximum dive depth of 100ft. makes the Caymans less and less attractive...

 

[KathyV]

All this plus the maximum dive depth of 100ft. makes the Caymans less and less attractive...

There's loads of beautiful dive sites in the Caymans so closing ten is a minor change and it's good they are trying to protect the environment and their natural resources.

I remember how sad we all were when Roatan made Mary's Place a no-dive zone, but it was good that they gave the popular site the chance to rest and recoup for a time before reopening it with some restrictions.

It is important to try and preserve the natural beauties.

 

[scubadada]

All this plus the maximum dive depth of 100ft. makes the Caymans less and less attractive...

Glad we will not see you there

 

[Joneill]

Ten Cayman Dive Sites Will be Closed to Scuba Divers Due to the New Marine Park Rulings:

Nine sites will close to divers on Grand Cayman and one site will close on Little Cayman (Blacktip Tunnels on the east end of the island).

Ten Cayman dive sites to close under new Marine Park Enhancements

I know that during the debates before the government approved the expansion plan there was concern that Babylon on the East End of GC would become a no-dive zone, but I don't know if that is true.

I guess it’s now Cayman 355 ... btw, Babylon is North (and have still not gotten there - so still hope!)

 

[KathyV]

I guess it’s now Cayman 355 ... btw, Babylon is North (and have still not gotten there - so still hope!

Thanks for the correction, Babylon is on the north side of the island but you may be able to dive it with the End End dive ops. Ocean Frontiers lists Babylon as one of the dive sites that they sometimes dive, see below. We dived it when we did the Cayman Aggressor trip and it was amazing!

55 Dive Sites on the East End of Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands

Babylon
Noted as one of the Top 10 wall dives in the Caribbean. Just mention the word Babylon to any Cayman Divemaster and you will notice a sparkle in their eye. This is the kind of dive is saved for their day off or to really impress experienced divers. Babylon is one of the most remote sites on Grand Cayman and is located on the North Wall, half way between Rum Point and East End. Babylon is most frequented by dive boats on 3 Tank Safaris around the island or by live-a-board vessels. Do not confuse all the hype about the beauty of this dive site and its remote location as to making it an advanced dive. Once you get there, Babylon is a very easy dive, the top of the Cayman wall starts between 35-45 feet. There are large sand patches on top of the wall and excellent shallow reefs for those scuba divers that do not want to venture too deep. For scuba divers who want a true vertical experience, they will find it on the wall at Babylon. The wall topography changes from a sheer plunging wall face to cascading sheets of plate coral and large pinnacles jutting in to the crystal clear waters of the Cayman Trench. While you are captivated by the pure vistas of Babylon do not forget to witness the Cayman reef inhabitants. The wall teems with schools of Chromis, often interrupted by Barracuda, Stop-Light Parrot fish or Queen Angels. The wall is decorated with thick outcroppings of Black Coral, Purple Sea Fans, Barrel sponges and a great variety of other tropical marine life.