Department of Environment

Marine Research News

Volume 5. March/April 2011

Marine Parks 25th Anniversary

“Save our Tomorrow—Today”
25 Years of Marine Parks
The Cayman Islands are home to priceless natural
resources: coastal ecosystems (coral reefs, seagrass beds and
mangroves) and abundant marine life are vital to our economy and quality of life. In
an effort to protect these resources, our Marine Parks were founded in 1986 under
the forward-thinking slogan “Save Our Tomorrow—Today.” Now as we near the
Marine Parks 25th Anniversary, Department of Environment (DoE) and Bangor
University have launched a Darwin Initiative project to evaluate the success of our
Marine Protected Area system and plan for the future.
Marine Parks: Then
In the 1960s the Cayman Islands began to experience tremendous growth in
population size and visitor numbers. By the 1980s, dive operators and fishermen
were complaining to the Natural Resources Laboratory (now the DoE) about
degradation of reefs and declining numbers of conch, lobster and fish. Recognizing
that our marine resources were increasingly threatened, Government passed the
Marine Parks Law in April 1986 – putting into place on all three islands a system of
reserves which was hailed as cutting edge for its time.
Marine Parks: Now
Over the past 25 years there has been increasing international recognition of the
ecological and economic importance of Marine Protected Areas. In the Cayman
Islands, the success of our Marine Parks and our reputation for healthy reefs draws
millions of visitors to support our economy. Now DoE has partnered with Bangor
University and The Nature Conservancy to conduct a comprehensive scientific
review of the Cayman Islands Marine Protected Areas — evaluating reef health, fish
and invertebrate biomass, and fishing pressure inside and outside the Marine Parks
on all three islands.
Marine Parks: Future
Since our Marine Parks were established 25 years ago, threats to the marine
environment have changed. In
addition to increased fishing
pressure and habitat destruction, In this issue...
our reefs are now threatened by
invasive lionfish and by the !" 25 Years of Marine Parks……………p. 1
potentially catastrophic effects of !" Why Marine Parks?………………….p. 2
climate change. Will our reefs be !" Cayman Marine Parks……………….p. 3
Photos: Gary Tayler, DoE, resilient enough to survive the !" Wanted: Acropora sightings....................p. 4
Nancy Nutile-McMenemy, next 25 years? Now is the time to !" Coming soon………………………..p. 4
Dora Valdez, DoE ensure their protection.
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 PAGE 2

Why Marine Parks?

Coral reefs are one of the most diverse and fragile ecosystems on
earth. Around the world, threats such as sedimentation, nutrification,
anchor damage, and overfishing have led to huge declines in corals
and reef fish populations. Persistent human impacts have reduced the
capacity of reefs to cope with continuing impacts and with emerging
threats such as invasive species and climate change. However, Marine
Protected Areas have been increasingly recognized as part of a
possible global solution.
It has been found that Marine Parks promote healthy corals and
increase biodiversity, biomass, size, and abundance of fish: within
Marine Parks, there are more species of fish and they are larger and
present in greater numbers.
Benefits are also seen outside the boundaries of Marine Parks.
Research suggests that fish move across the boundaries of Marine
Parks to colonize the areas outside them. This “spillover” of adult fish
and export of eggs and larvae creates more productive fisheries, more
vibrant reefs, and healthier ecosystems around Marine Parks.
Marine Parks provide economic advantages. In addition to
increasing catch of fish outside their boundaries, Marine Parks protect
against the extinction of vulnerable species and are beneficial for
tourism: while corals and fish populations on many Caribbean Islands
have already been destroyed, visitors are attracted to the Cayman
Islands by our famous Marine Parks and by the promise of beautiful
corals and an abundance of marine life.
Protecting fish leads to healthier reefs. Herbivorous fish play a
critical role on Caribbean reefs: grazing algae and preventing it from
outcompeting coral. By maintaining the natural variety and abundance
of herbivorous and carnivorous species, Marine Parks preserve a
delicate balance in coral reef systems. One of the most serious threats
to reefs is loss of fish populations through overfishing. Because the
fish in Marine Parks are protected, reefs within and near park
boundaries are healthier.
Healthy reefs are more resilient: they have the capacity to recover
from major impacts such as coral bleaching, disease, and storms. For
example, hurricanes can catastrophically damage corals on the reef. In
a healthy ecosystem, fish graze algae after a storm, clearing substrates
for coral larvae to settle and re-establish the reef. In contrast, on a
fished-out reef, algae takes over and coral may not recover.
As a country, we are fortunate that the early institution of Marine
Parks has helped our coral reefs survive until now. However, since the
1980s our reefs have been seriously degraded. As part of a growing
network of Marine Protected Areas around the globe, we must work
to ensure that marine ecosystems in the Cayman Islands are healthy
enough to cope with current impacts and coming challenges such as
climate change.

Photos: Croy McCoy, Gary Redfern, Dora Valdez, Chris Burrows-Wood

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Cayman Islands Marine Parks

Protected Areas in the Cayman Islands include Marine Parks, Replenishment Zones,
Designated Grouper Spawning Areas, Wildlife Interaction Zones, No Diving Zones,
and an Environmental Zone. Regulations for these zones, as well as catch limits for
protected species, are available in the DoE Marine Parks Brochure.

Map: Cayman Islands Department of Environment. See the Marine Parks Brochure for a key to the Marine Park Zones.

Interconnected ecosystems...
As reflected in the Marine Parks 25th Anniversary logo, coastal ecosystems are intricately connected. Seagrass beds
and mangroves serve as nurseries for juvenile fish: in the Cayman Islands and elsewhere research has shown that fish
abundance and diversity is greater on reefs connected to these habitats. Reefs can also be damaged by land-based
threats such as sedimentation and sewage. The proposed Cayman Islands National Conservation Law would allow
integrated coastal zone management, taking connections between ecosystems into account.

Photos: Jimmy Squire, NOAA, Croy McCoy

Photos: Coralpedia guide PAGE 4

Acropora cervicornis a.k.a. staghorn coral Acropora palmata a.k.a. elkhorn coral

DoE is collecting sightings of staghorn and elkhorn coral around Grand

Cayman, Little Cayman, and Cayman Brac. These species were once
common reef building corals in the Caribbean but their populations have
been decimated by threats such as coral bleaching, disease, hurricanes,
sedimentation, nutrient enrichment and habitat damage. Please help us
map the distribution of rare branching corals in the Cayman Islands—
email DoE@gov.ky with the following information:
!" Which species did you see (staghorn or elkhorn)?
!" Location of the sighting: please give a detailed description including
distance from shore and depth of the water.
!" When (how long ago) did you see the coral?
!" How abundant was the coral (approximate area covered)? What’s next? DoE staff will visit
reported locations to map the
!" What was its condition (healthy, diseased, bleached, etc)? distribution of living elkhorn and
!" Any notes? Can we contact you with follow-up questions? staghorn corals, assess their
condition and identify potential
(Please include a daytime phone number.) threats. Photo: Pedrin Lopez

Coming soon...
!" We are preparing an update on the Marine Animal Sighting Programme. Please continue to report
sightings of mantas, whales, dolphins, sharks, large turtles (more than 3 ft shell length) and other large
marine animals to our DoE sightings database! (Email DoE@gov.ky or post to our Sharks and Cetaceans
Facebook page).
!" Get certified as a Lionfish Culler—see our DoE Lionfish Culling Group Facebook page for more info and
email DoE for a schedule of training sessions.

Contact us: Email doe@gov.ky or call 949-8469 (office hours or for emergency contact numbers)
~Questions, comments or suggestions for the newsletter—or to be added to the email list—contact Janice Blumenthal at DoE~