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

[scubadada]

Hi @caydiver

What dive sites are being eliminated?

 

[Dogbowl]

Posting info opens it up for discussion. I think that is the point of a forum, no?

If info is incorrect, then provide correct info and substantiate it. Just saying something is false and repeating it often with much passion isn’t very useful.

 

[caydiver]

 

[Dogbowl]

I don’t like to call anyone out but I think someone owes @KathyV an apology.

“...I have not looked at the official list (I just saw the article in the paper and a report on 27).”

How’s that any different from what @KathyV did?

@KathyV, please continue to post about Cayman as you always do. You did nothing wrong. I enjoy your enthusiasm for the Cayman Islands, although I haven’t been there in a while!

 

[caydiver]

 

[KathyV]

Here is the information published on the Cayman Department of the Environment website, it's the same info that's posted on several other sites and doesn't list the names of the dive sites that are closing; I didn't find anything more specific on their Facebook page either.

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

 

[KathyV]

 

[scubadada]

It will be interesting to see the 9 dive sites eliminated off Grand Cayman

 

[mi000ke]

I think it is a problem when the info is incorrect. I have learned lots of things here from other people and am very grateful but cannot understand the point of people posting stuff just because they read it, heard it or think it with no personal basis to know if it is accurate. It dilutes the helpfulness of the good information.

[Thought this posted early this morning, but had a technical glitch, but better late than never]

The material that was posted was from publicly available documents that anyone could access. @KathyV just made it more convenient to access (and thanks for doing so!). I don't think we can hold visitors to the island responsible for what gets published in our (so-called) newspaper. If you have a problem with the content, then please by all means complain to the publisher. And given your local knowledge, any factual corrections would be welcome.

 

[KathyV]

We did 2 dives on Babylon from the Cayman Aggressor V Cayman Aggressor V, November 24-December 1, 2018 I have also dived Babylon from Compass Point/Ocean Frontiers

Thanks, I checked my log book and I was remembering correctly, we also did a couple of dives on Babylon when we were on the Cayman Aggressor. I used all kinds of gushing and glowing words to describe the site!

Whenever someone says "why would you do a liveaboard trip in the Caymans when most of the sites are so close to shore?" I answer "True, but you get to do a whole lot of diving on the best sites off of all 3 Cayman islands - as long as the weather cooperates."

We had great weather when we did the CA IV trip and I am glad that we made the trip. It was the first time that we dived the Cayman Sister Islands (and we dived Babylon, too!)

Cayman 365 was covering all 3 islands - so 10 less is 355!

Dive365 Cayman Islands

I’m well aware of Babylon and it’s reputation - but the “stars have yet to align” to allow me to get there with Ocean Frontiers!

Friends who live on island say it’s one of their favorite sites.

I finally figured out what was bothering me about Babylon. I knew that we had dived it in the past and I thought that it was with the Aggressor, and that was correct, but something else was nagging at me about the site.

So I went through my old log books and found it. A long, long, time ago (In the Year of Our Lord Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Six!) we dived Babylon with the Cayman Diving Lodge on the East End, which is now long-gone after being destroyed by a hurricane.

My description of the dive is full of superlatives about the site, especially all the black corals, and the turtles, octopus, and lots gorgeous stuff.

I am so glad that I've kept up with logging dives over the years, nothing extensive or fancy, but there are a lot of happy memories contained in those yellowing pages!