CCMI says not enough info available on cruise referendum

The Central Caribbean Marine Institute has weighed in on the cruise berth debate ahead of the referendum vote on 30 April, saying that it is not possible to make an educated decision about the issue with the information currently available.

CCMI, which carries out research and education on ocean health and marine diversity, issued a press statement on Monday, stating, “With the current information available, it is not possible to make an informed and evidence-based decision that adequately considered the trade-offs between environmental damage and development to ensure the best outcome for the people of the Cayman Islands.”

The referendum question simply asks, “Should the Cayman Islands develop cruise berthing infrastructure?”

The institute said that the long-term impact of a proposed cruise berth and associated activities that could impact Cayman’s coastline and marine environment, especially its iconic beaches, required careful consideration. With minimal available information about the cruise berth plans, it said, “ensuring that these plans include environmental considerations and voting without this information is challenging”.

It added, “At present, little to no information about what the cruise berthing project might look like is in the public domain. To date, no draft plans covering location, size, scope, and environmental impact have been released. It is CCMI’s belief that all government and private entities should have a full understanding regarding the impact of human activities on precious coral reef ecosystems and the potential cascading effect that damaging coral reefs will have on our oceans.”

Coral bleaching concerns

CCMI said that development and caring for the environment were not mutually exclusive, and that effective environmental management did not hinder growth of the Cayman Islands but instead was a crucial component of growth.

But it warned, “Issues such as coral bleaching and loss and extensive coastal erosion are at the forefront of many Cayman Islands residents at this time. These pressures that threaten key economic sectors and ways of life in our islands only increase the need for evidence-based decision making, informed by expert scientific advice, to ensure that short-term developmental gain is not prioritised over the long-term well-being of a society that is underpinned by its environment in so many ways.”

It continued, “The Cayman Islands and its gorgeous beaches have been built over tens of millions of years by the stony limestone skeletons of millions of coral reef organisms. It is these corals and skeletal organisms that break down from natural physical and biological processes to produce the sand on our beaches.

“The longer-term impact of the proposed cruise berthing infrastructure and the associated activities that could impact Cayman’s coastline and marine environment require careful consideration. It is possible that activities such as removal of depositional material, which is an important part of the overall sand budget and contributes to the formation of the beaches, Cayman’s most iconic tourism product, could have a substantial detrimental effect.”

With two weeks to go until the cruise ship referendum, tensions between the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ campaigns are heating up.

CPR Cayman has accused the ‘vote yes’ campaign group ACT of posting misleading signs implying that voting no for cruise berthing would be voting against cruise tourism. CPR Cayman said in a statement issued on Friday, “This is not at all a part of the referendum question and is clearly and intentionally aimed at misleading the public that a vote against cruise berthing is a vote against cruise tourism. They are not the same.”

It added, “Misleading information should be regulated and there should be recourse to challenge this.”

The group complained to the Elections Office but were told that there were no provisions in the Referendum Act or the Elections Act that make it illegal or unlawful to erect a sign which is viewed as misleading in relation to a referendum question.

ACT dismissed the accusations by doubling down on their campaign messaging, saying, “Let us be clear – we stand by every word: a Yes vote is a vote for cruise tourism, and a No vote is a vote against it. That is not spin – that is reality.”