Stingray City and its shallower
neighbor, Stingray Sandbar, are
among the best-known marine
attractions in the world, visited by
up to 5,000 divers and snorkelers
daily. But many Cayman residents
question whether entire generations
of rays in the North Sound
are too dependent on humans
for survival.
The Guy Harvey Research
Institute -- a collaboration
between marine artist Dr. Guy
Harvey and Nova Southeastern
University in Fort Lauderdale, FL
-- is nearing the end of a two-year
study of the site to determine
what effect human interaction has
on the stingrays, particularly their
feeding and breeding habits.
A working group created by
Cayman's Department of the
Environment plans to submit proposals
to the Cabinet for improvements
to the area. The group
includes representatives from the
Tourism Association, the North
Sound Marine Conservation
Board, and the Land & Sea Co-op.
Divetech's Nancy Eastbrook
helped found the Conservation
Board. She told Undercurrent that
proposed regulations would limit
the number of boats and people
in the area and would also prohibit
the wearing of gloves. The most sweeping changes would allow
only dive guides to feed the rays
and to limit how much food they
can dole out. At the Sandbar,
boats would not be allowed to
anchor, thus requiring participants
to swim a short distance to
the shallows; lifting the rays out of
the water would no longer be permitted.
Another location may be
opened to spread the impact on
the rays and their environment.
Eastbrook hopes that the new regulations
will be enacted this year.
On a second front, the
Department of Agriculture has
granted a license to two
Caymanian businessmen to
import eight bottlenose dolphins
from Cancun for a Dolphin
Discovery attraction near the
Turtle Farm. Some environmental
groups, such as Keep It Wild,
Cayman, oppose holding dolphins
in captivity. Organizer
Juliet Austin points out that more
than 20 dolphins were illegally
shipped to Mexico from the
Solomon Islands in 2003. She
worries that there is no way to
detect if Cayman's dolphins
would be the same creatures.
The $4 million attraction
would allow up to 30 people to
touch the dolphins by standing
on a waist-deep submerged platform
as the dolphins swim by in
the lagoons. Austin has said, "Not
only will it cripple our reputation as a premiere eco-friendly location,
but it has potentially devastating
implications for the dolphins
themselves."
Last July, Keep it Wild gathered
more than 2,000 signatures
on a petition opposing captive
dolphins in the Cayman Islands,
but the plans for the facility have
continued. "They can ignore the
petition," said Austin, "but we're
not going away."
All this activity is fueled by the
cruise business that dominates
Grand Cayman, with as many as
eight ships coming and going
each day. Last December, eight
cruise ships disgorged 20,000 passengers
on George Town on one
day alone. Traffic is often backed
up the full length of Seven Mile
Beach. And there's talk of a second
cruise ship port being developed,
perhaps doubling the number
of daily visitors.
The vacation home market is
booming as well. The Ritz
Carlton is marketing condos that
start at $2.9 million and top out at
$25 million. The local newspaper,
Caymanian Compass, predicted
that this development will
boost the local economy, as
wealthy visitors begin to demand
more services, upscale restaurants,
and the like. And, of
course, Cayman's sky high prices
will climb even higher.