Much of the debate around the cruise berthing facility has centered on the potential impact on the wrecks and reefs in the harbour.
Amid conflicting reports about the health of the marine life in the impacted area, we enlisted the help of underwater photographer Courtney Platt and produced an interactive graphic to demonstrate exactly what lies beneath the glassy surface.
Each of the flashing dots on the aerial image above, correlates to a specific dive site. Click on the dots to see images taken at those locations and a short description of the sites and what the available reports say about how they could be impacted.
Calico’s owner: ‘We should have built piers years ago’
Handel Whittaker is one of the most recognisable faces on Seven Mile Beach. After nearly two decades as the proprietor of Calico Jack’s and...
Langevin: ‘Do we want quality or quantity?’
As the manager of the Cayman Islands’ most luxurious resort, Marc Langevin has a vested interest in the future of the island’s tourism product. Amid an ongoing debate about tourism growth, the general manager of The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman is keen to see the island retain its reputation as a safe, high-quality destination.
How much tourism is too much for a small island?
Cayman's tourism industry is thriving. But amid the debate over if and how to develop the island's port facilities, some are wondering, if the growth in visitors is sustainable and what the impact of rising visitation might mean for the island over the coming decades.
Cruise ports around the region
Across the Caribbean the cruise industry is driving infrastructure projects to accommodate larger ships. Cayman Compass reporter Kayla Young looked at some of the...
Cousteau clarifies Cayman port position
In the early stages of this process, I was asked to voice my environmental concerns on video regarding a proposed cruise and cargo port enhancement project in the Cayman Islands.
Year in Review: The summer of sargassum
An occasional menace in summers past, sargassum swamped Cayman’s beaches in such volumes this year, the problem became impossible to ignore.
Under the weed, life abounds
The large floating mats of algae provide shelter for juvenile fish, eels and sea turtles. Flying fish lay their eggs amid this tangled mass. A vast cast of eclectic critters, like the thumbnail-sized sargassum frog fish, live their entire lives within the weed.
For sea turtles and sargassum, the relationship is complicated
At sea, sargassum provides vital shelter for a variety of species. Young turtle hatchlings even hitch rides on these floating mats, as they venture into the open ocean. But when the algae comes ashore in significant quantities, this beneficial relationship is betrayed.
Sargassum fertiliser offers alternative for organic agriculture
When Johanan Dujon began harvesting sargassum in Saint Lucia in 2014, he collected 1,500 pounds of the seaweed. This year, with his company Algas Organics, he is on track to harvest 1 million pounds.
Sargassum houses turn seaweed invasion into economic opportunity
Inspired by memories of his grandparents’ adobe house, a periodic place of refuge, Omar Vazquez developed a low-cost alternative to cement, using a substance that has invaded Caribbean shores in recent years – sargassum seaweed.
