PROTECTION

ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS & POLICY IN THE CAYMAN ISLANDS

Local Laws

Open and Closed Seasons:
The protection of the immensely beautiful and diversified natural resources of the Cayman Islands is vital. For this reason there are some guidelines to follow. Seek guidance from the Cayman Islands Department of Environment for a complete set of environmental laws and if any of the following limits, seasons, restrictions, or general rules are unclear.

CLOSED SEASONS & LIMITS

Conch: 1st May – 31st October (CLOSED) – 5 conch per person/10 per boat

Echninoderms: May not be taken at any time. (sea urchins, starfish, etc.)

Lobsters: 1st May – 31st October (CLOSED) – 5 conch per person/10 per boat

Nassau Grouper: No fishing in designated spawning areas.
Size limit of 12 inches minimum, year round.

Sharks: No feeding or attracting of any type of shark.

Other Protected Fish: Goliath Grouper, Tilefish, Filefish, Angelfish (including grey, French, and queen fish) may not be taken at any time.
Size limit of 8 inches minimum on all other fish, except goggle eyes, herrings, anchovies, and silversides.

Turtles: 1st May – 31st October. License required from the Marine Conservation Board.
Possession of turtle eggs is prohibited. Don’t bother the turtles!

Whelks: 1st May – 31st October – 2.5 gallons in shell limit.

Fishing Licenses are required – except for catch & release!

General Rules

Damaging coral by anchor, chains, or any other means anywhere in Cayman waters is prohibited.
No taking of any marine object alive or dead while on scuba.
No taking of any coral, sponge, etc. from Cayman waters.
Wearing gloves while diving or snorkeling is prohibited.
Export of live fish is prohibited.
Fishing with gill nets, poison, or any noxious substance is prohibited.
Dumping anything into Cayman waters is prohibited.
Export of conch shells & black corals requires a CITES permit (Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species).

Violations in Cayman may incur severe penalties

Violation of any of these laws is an offense carrying a maximum penalty of CI$500,000 fine and 1 year in jail.
Upon conviction, forfeiture of the vessel or other equipment may also be ordered.

Marine Parks
Marine parks abound in the Cayman Islands. While visitation is encouraged, there are many rules and regulations to follow depending on which type of park you intend to visit. To minimise problems, always pay close attention to where you are, & talk to guides & local people before you go!

REPORT AN OFFENSE
Call: 948-6002 or 911 or VHF: Channel 17

WHY WE HAVE OPEN AND CLOSED SEASONS
Everyone has heard that the ocean is being exploited in an unsustainable way. This means we are taking more of a certain species than can be replaced through natural reproductive cycles. Scientific data provides shocking facts about declining fisheries from shallow, intermediate and deep ocean depths.

Many species have been fished to near extinction and others have had the seasons closed for longer and longer periods of time to reduce the threat of extinction. This is what the United Nations Fisheries Department says:

“Smaller fish and smaller catches suggest that the world’s oceans are no longer producing at their full potential. The bounty of the sea is becoming less generous – scientists estimate that the number of large fish in the oceans has fallen by as much as 90% since the 1950s. Improvements in technology have made it easier for fisherman to find and harvest more fish than ever before - while demand for sea life products – which are consumed by both the rich and poor – is at an all time high.”

A recent report (Review of the State of World Marine Fishery Resources) from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation’s Fisheries Department says,

“77% of the world’s fish stocks are “fully exploited” – producing catches that are already at or very close to their maximum sustainable production limit, over-exploited, depleted, or recovering. The proportion of stocks FAO classifies as “under-exploited” has fallen to 3%, while the amount of “moderately exploited” stocks stands at 20%."

Table courtesy of the Marine Resources Service, Fishery Resources Division, FAO Fisheries Department.

GOOD NEWS
The good news is that by having closed areas or closed seasons for threatened species we have seen remarkable recoveries where the law has been enforced.

One such positive example is here in the Cayman Islands, where a Nassau grouper spawning aggregation off the west side of Little Cayman was rediscovered by our local fisherman. During the first two full moons of the new year in 2000 and 2001, fishermen were able to easily catch 100 or more fish to fill up their skiffs in the early predawn hours. The site is now protected.

Like many fish species, Nassau groupers’ reproductive behaviour is linked to the lunar cycle. At full moon the groupers come together – aggregate - in the thousands to spawn. At the grouper aggregation on Little Cayman over half of the population of this fat-lipped fish was taken from the ocean by a small group of fishermen who believed there was an endless resource.

The closure of the aggregations in Cayman to fishing is having a remarkably positive result and at Little Cayman, several groupers will be seen during any single dive. Sadly, several grouper spawning grounds have already been lost. It will take many years to know whether the grouper population can recover at the other sites.

LOOKING FORWARD
Conservation ideology has evolved in recent years. Instead of trying to solve local problems piecemeal, large organisations such as The United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) are looking for solutions that will have global impact. The Caribbean Challenge is one such project.

TNC is challenging Caribbean nations to increase their marine parks and to improve marine enforcement. The current thinking is that a global network of marine parks could control what the experts call “the tragedy of commons.”

In many areas, fish in the ocean are an open, or ‘common’, resource with no limits to how much can be taken or by whom. Countries can send their fishing fleet thousands of miles from their own shores to fish “the high seas.” But we know that our ocean currents connect far reaching places on earth. Take all of the fish from one place, and the effects can be felt on the other side of the world.

Fish and corals don’t need passports: ocean - currents transport fish and coral larvae, and many other organisms across the open ocean to our reefs and between one island and the next.

Cayman has one of the most important coral reefs to protect, and global networks could provide the capacity for our small island nation to reap major benefits with little effort.