cayman compass Your most trusted news source Established 1965 75 CENTS | Funding local journalism | Thursday, 21 November 2019 Scientist aims to regrow damaged corals Page 8 US wins, Cayman falls in Nations League play Pages 10 &11 Regulated in the Cayman Islands as a licensed insurer by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority. Generali Worldwide is a trading name of Utmost Worldwide Limited. Registered Head Office address: Utmost Worldwide Limited, Utmost House, Hirzel Street, St Peter Port, Guernsey, Channel Islands GY1 4PA. Regulated in Guernsey as a licensed insurer by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission under the Insurance Business (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2002 (as amended). Incorporated in Guernsey under Company Registration No. 27151. For a partnership you can trust contact us 747-2000. Proud to be Forbes Best Global Insurance Group. www.generali-healthcare.com Gov’t mulls e-cigarette regulations Lawmakers may clamp down as vaping-related illnesses in the US rise Page 4 Photo: Kevin Morales ntist s to ow aged l Eden calls government port spending into question Page 2PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY: Cayman Compass Ltd. Compass Centre, Shedden Road, George Town, Cayman Islands SEND US YOUR VIEWS OR NEWS: P.O. Box 1365 Grand Cayman, KY1-1108 Cayman Islands Telephone: (345) 815-0095 Email: newsdesk@compassmedia.ky ADVERTISE WITH US: T: (345) 949-5111 E: sales@compassmedia.ky W: caymancompass.com PUBLISHER KATHLEEN CAPETTA NEWS PRODUCER AND OPERATIONS MANAGER KEVIN MORALES A MEMBER OF THE INTER-AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION “Give light and the people will find their own way” Partly cloudy skies with a 30% chance of showers weather Forecast today Cayman Islands 84°F 77°F HIGH LOW WINDS Northeast at 15 to 20 knots SEA STATE Rough with wave heights of 4 to 6 feet. • Matinees Daily (matinee price before 6pm) • Seniors $8.00, Mon-Fri Before 6pm • Additional charges apply per 3D/VIP tickets Cayman Cinema@cbcinema6cbcinema6 SATURDAY NIGHT: For your viewing pleasure, minors under the age of 18 will not be admitted to any film starting after 6pm, unless accompanied by their parent. - THURSDAY - 640-FILM (640-3456) CHARLIE’S ANGELS (PG13) 12:30 | 3:50 VIP | 6:40 | 10:00 VIP DEPECHE MODE: SPIRITS IN THE FOREST 7:00 FORD V FERRARI (PG13) 12:30 VIP | 3:20 | 6:40 VIP | 9:30 LAST CHRISTMAS (PG13) 2:25 | 4:00 | 7:20 | 9:50 MALEFICENT: MISTRESS OF EVIL (PG) 1:00 | 6:30 | 9:30 PLAYING WITH FIRE (PG) 4:55 | 7:35 | 10:00 TERMINATOR: DARK FATE (R) 12:50 | 3:50 | 9:45 JGHS gripped by flood and fire ANDREL HARRIS aharris@compassmedia.ky A fire at John Gray High School Wednesday morning forced students and staff members to evacuate, education and Fire Services leaders confirmed. The blaze was first noticed around 8am near a modular classroom on the campus. “The fire services were called and they arrived by 8:06am,” Department of Education Services’ Mark Ray said. “A security officer and two staff members grabbed an extinguisher and put out the fire.” Those inside the school were first evacuated to the football fields and later moved to the gymnasium building a few hundred feet away. No injuries were reported and although the fire disrupted teaching schedules, the school remained open. “I am very thankful that there was no injury or harm to any of our students,” JGHS Principal John Clark said. “I am very pleased with the response of our staff, students, security team, CIFS and the RCIPS who were called and responded.” The cause of the fire is still unknown. A joint investigation between the RCIPS and the Fire Services has been launched. There was damage to a step leading to the classroom, according to Clark. The classrooms affected have been cordoned off and will be closed until further notice, according to a press release from the Education Ministry. While officers tried to piece together the cause of the blaze, members of the public works department were busy trying to pump dry the school’s canteen which was also flooded the same morning. The cause of the flooding is also unclear. But canteen members were also evacuated. Eden queries $3.5m allocation for port project Premier: It’s for pre-contract work RESHMA RAGOONATH rragoonath@compassmedia.ky Savannah MLA Anthony Eden has queried the allocation of a total of $3.5 million in the 2020/2021 budget for the cruise and cargo project when government has indicated that no additional public funds would be spent on the $200m project. However, Premier Alden McLaughlin told the Cayman Compass Wednesday the funds were allocated for pre-contract work for the project over the 2020/2021 budget cycle. Should the project not get the green light in the 19 Dec. cruise port referendum, those funds will fall away. McLaughlin, in his budget statement, had indicated that no further funding would be spent on the project. Eden flagged the expenditure during his contribution to the budget debate in the Legislative Assembly Monday. He pointed out the sums of $1.9m in 2020 and $1.6m in 2021 were identified in the $1.5 billion budget for preparatory works in advance of the project. “I assume if government had a successful referendum vote, the contractors would start right away. And with the premier indicating no expenditure by the government, if they could explain this,” Eden said. He asked that the funds be addressed in the closing of the budget debate. However, the debate ended without his query being clarified as McLaughlin was called upon to wrap earlier than expected. Speaking with the Compass on the issue, the premier explained that the preparatory works listed in the budget were not connected to the project’s scope of works. “The successful bidder will only be responsible for the costs involved in the design, building, financing and maintenance of the facility, not for costs incurred pre-contract,” he said. Those costs have to be borne by the government. “We've spent more than $9 million on the project so far. All the work, studies, experts, lawyers, accountants have to be paid. This project is six years old now and we still don't have a contract signed. It's a very complex project,” McLaughlin added. $200m projected cost of the cruise berthing and cargo project Man wanted in US continues fight against extradition ANDREL HARRIS aharris@compassmedia.ky Ian Nigel Mackellar, of North Side, is looking to the Grand Court to have an extradition ruling overturned this week. MacKellar, 62, is wanted in Texas on a handful of charges including fraud and smuggling. The charges stem from 2008 when Mackellar and others are alleged to have smuggled counterfeit products to the US. In September of 2018, Mackellar lost a two-year extradition battle in the Summary Court. Mackellar’s lawyers, during an appeal hearing in Grand Court Tuesday, requested the court overturn the ruling on the grounds that the alleged counterfeit products were actually original items that were incorrectly packaged. Edward Fitzgerald QC, who is representing Mackellar, called the case “border line,” adding, “He [Mackellar] is not a murderer. He is not a terrorist. One ought to question whether there should have been an extradition hearing in the first place.” Mackellar, who has PR, is one of three men listed in the 2008 indictment. The other two have been convicted and sentenced. He remains on bail. Cayman Islands Fire Service and RCIPS officers respond to a report of a fire Wednesday morning at John Gray High School. 2SERVES 6-8 PEOPLE FOR ONLY $79.99 LET FOSTER’S HANDLE THE COOKING! SCAN TO ORDER. Holiday Dinner Our holiday box dinners include your choice of delicious roast turkey or glazed ham, gravy, three side dishes, cranberry sauce, rolls, and a freshly baked pie. CARVING FEE: ADDITIONAL $10 SIDES: • Stuffing • Mashed Potatoes • Green Bean Casserole • Macaroni and Cheese • Rice and Beans • Whipped Sweet Potatoes • Cranberry Sauce (included) • 12 Dinner Rolls (included) • Gravy (included) Additional sides will be charged by the pound. 24 hours notice is required for all orders. PIES: • Apple Pie • Pumpkin Pie cayman compass 3 THURSDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 20191234567 8 910 11 12 131415 16 1718 19 2021 2223 1234567 8 910 11 12 131415 16 1718 19 2021 2223 ACROSS 1Laughable (8) 5Leave out (4) 9Uncertain (5) 10Paper-thin metal sheeting (7) 11Layered puff pastry cake (12) 13Win back (6) 14Abrasion (6) 17Protection (12) 20Outlay (7) 21Short moral story (5) 22Rational (4) 23Coal mine (8) DOWN 1Bird of pigeon family (4) 2Ship’s cordage (7) 3Enthralling (12) 4Approve and sanction (6) 6Mound (5) 7Petty thief (8) 8Abortive (12) 12Advance (8) 15Good-natured (7) 16Manage with what there is (4,2) 18Trembling poplar (5) 19Dare (4) The Compass Crossword Puzzle The Compass universal kakuro Puzzle 16228 The numbers in the black cells are clues. Numbers above the slash are across clues. Number below the slash are down clues. The goal is to enter digits 1 - 9 in the white cells to add up to the number clues. You cannot enter any digit more than once when adding up to clue. YeSteRDAY'S SOLUtIONS Puzzle 16227 ACROSS: 1 Abhorrent, 8 Raise, 9 Diverse, 10 Biased, 11 Asylum, 12 Braggart, 15 Innocent, 18 Impact, 20 Expand, 21 Minutes, 22 There, 23 Lose heart. DOWN: 2 Bliss, 3 Overly, 4 Resemble, 5 Trying, 6 Kinsman, 7 Head start, 11 At liberty, 13 Artifice, 14 Snippet, 16 Cancel, 17 Spouse, 19 Clear. Vaping and e-cigarette regulations in the works RESHMA RAGOONATH rragoonath@compassmedia.ky Government has started the process of creating regulations for vaping and the use of e-cigarettes in the Cayman Islands. “The ministry has produced an update on the Tobacco Law to include e-cigarettes and has modelled the controls around those employed in the UK,” Health Minister Dwayne Seymour said in the Legislative Assembly on Monday night. The action follows media reports out of the US linking e-cigarettes to deaths and lung disease in frequent users. Seymour said the issue is a concern for his team and they are moving to create local rules to protect the public. International restrictions considered He told legislators the US does not have controls on vaping in many states, while for many years the UK has had strict regulations around the use of e-cigarettes. “The pattern of lung injury in the US has not been seen in Europe,” he added. The minister did not go into detail on the planned controls. However, he said, the health policy team is helping the ministry, which is in the process of working on a formal request to Cabinet to seek approval to request drafting instructions on the controls. Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Lee also declined to share details on the planned controls as he said the proposals were still in the early stages. However, Lee told the Cayman Compass the proposed rules have largely drawn upon the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s regulations on e-cigarettes. “I think everyone is worried reading about the tragic deaths and illnesses that have come from vaping in the [US],” Lee said in an emailed response to queries from the Compass. Lee said he was pleased the health minister announced a plan to take more definitive steps in curbing the potential for any harm to people wishing to use vaping as a means to quit smoking. “Smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths in the world, harms nearly every organ in the body, and is cited as a contributary factor in countless cancers and other illnesses.” Lee said. “Evidence suggests that vaping is up to 95% safer than smoking, which makes it a possible stepping stone to stopping smoking, and evidence suggests that vaping may be twice as effective as other nicotine replacement therapies – but we want to make sure the vaping does not give us new problems with much tighter controls around its use.” Health officials concerned Last month the Ministry of Health had announced that local legislation was being reviewed to protect members of the public and to implement intervention measures into the use of e-cigarettes by young people, including children. The ministry, in its statement, advised all vape and e-cigarette users, if they do not intend to stop smoking, at least to consider switching to non-flavoured nicotine “e-liquids”, or to a flavoured variety that has been approved by the MHRA. The UK regulations limit the use of e-cigarettes and bans certain ingredients including colourings, caffeine and taurine. They also include labelling requirements and warnings. In September, Customs and Border Control seized vaporising cannabinoids from local healthcare facility Doctors Express. A joint police and customs investigation was launched into the importation of the products and the Health Practice Commission issued a cease notice restricting the facility from selling and prescribing the cannabinoids. Both customs and police said the investigation is continuing, with the CBC department leading the probe. CBD oil or medical cannabis has been legal in the Cayman Islands since 2016. cartoon Jake Fuller UK restrictions (2017) for e-cigarettes and vaping • Restrict e-cigarette tanks to a capacity of no more than 2ml • Restrict the maximum volume of nicotine- containing e-liquid for sale in one refill container to 10ml • Restrict e-liquids to a nicotine strength of no more than 20mg/ml • Require nicotine-containing products or their packaging to be child-resistant and tamper evident • Ban certain ingredients including colourings, caffeine and taurine • Include new labelling requirements and warnings e-cigarettes by young ng ry, t e and rs, if end to at least itching to nicotine o a flavoured s been Puzzle Puzzle 16228 he MHRA. ulations limit garettes and CBD oil or medical cannabis has been legal in the Cayman Islands since 2016. CDC stats as of 13 Nov. 2,172 Cases of e-cigarette, or vaping, product use associated lung injury in 49 states, the District of Columbia, and 2 US territories. 42 deaths have been confirmed in 24 states and the District of Columbia. cayman compass 4 news N news THURSDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 2019Christmas Community bring the entire family to the Compass Media Parking Lot vendors: book your booth space today! - 10x10’ tent, table & chairs provided - space is limited call penelope 949-5111 Today! december 7, 10am - 2 pm meet santa live music crafts & jewellery Lots of christmas gift ideas Lots of christmas gift ideas Four new members of the International Scuba Hall of Fame were announced over the weekend. Tom Ingram, Jill Heinerth, Jim Gatacre and Avi Kapfer will be inducted at the Hall of Fame’s annual dinner, 25 Sept. 2020. The inductees were announced during a livestreamed broadcast co-hosted by Stephen Broadbelt, ISDHF Chairman and owner of East End-based dive operator Ocean Frontiers. The dinner will mark the hall of fame’s 20th anniversary. To commemorate the milestone, Minister of Tourism Moses Kirkconnell has announced a permanent home for the hall at the Pedro St. James next year. The Cayman Compass has reached out to government about the planned hall of fame but no details about the new facility have been made available. Established by the Ministry of Tourism in 2000, the hall of fame celebrates dive industry leaders who have contributed to the success of recreational scuba diving worldwide through innovation and advancements made in the areas of dive tourism, equipment design, dive safety, inclusivity, exploration, adventure, innovation and more. Ingram, of the United States, served on the board of the Hall of Fame from 2005 to 2019 and has been president of the Diving Equipment & Marketing Association (DEMA) since 2002. He has become the “face” of the US diving industry, developing strategic alliances with international diving groups around the world. Heinerth, of Canada, is a pioneering underwater explorer and filmmaker. Her photography and writing have been featured in prominent publications around the world. She is also a motivational speaker and the author of numerous books on technical diving. Gatacre, a native of Canada and longtime California resident, is the founder of the Handicapped Scuba Association, a non-profit corporation that has allowed handicapped people around the globe to enjoy the wonders of the underwater world. As the leading authority on recreational diving for handicapped people, the HSA has trained and certified over 10,000 handicapped divers. A freak accident in 1972 left Gatacre’s right arm partially paralyzed. The following year, he earned his NAUI open water scuba certification and has since devoted himself to helping other disabled people do the same. Klapfer, an Israeli underwater photographer based in Costa Rica, has explored and protected the remote Cocos Island since 1990. Klapfer co-authored Costa Rica Blue, a comprehensive dive guide for Costa Rica with an emphasis on Cocos Island. As part of the Cocos Island’s preservation efforts, her company, Undersea Hunter Group, has since declared the island as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, providing visual evidence of illegal fishing practices within its boundaries. Cocos Island is now one of the best protected dive sites in the world. Scuba Hall of Fame announces 2020 inductees 2020 ISDHF inductees To learn more about the 2020 ISDHF inductees, please visit the following link: https://bit.ly/2QwwaoM Jim Gatacre received an appreciation award from a Korean diving group at a recent gathering of the Handicapped Scuba Association in Grand Cayman. Gatacre founded the association. Tom Ingram Former Sport Diving Operations Program department head at Florida Institute of Technology Established 1st 4-year degree programme in Recreational Diving Management at Barry University Worked as East Coast Shipwreck Project manager on the 1715 Spanish Plate Fleet & recovering Nuestra Senora de Atocha off Key West Jill Heinerth International “Deffie” Best HD documentary award winner Set women’s world record of deep cave penetration in 1998 1st person to dive ice caves of Antarctica Jim Gatacre Founded Handicapped Scuba Association HSA has trained and certified more than 10,000 handicapped divers Avi Klapfer Co-authored Costa Rica Blue Assisted in getting Cocos Island declared as UNESCO World Heritage Site cayman compass 5 news N news THURSDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 2019A donation last week of US$12,600 will pay for a neonatal transport incubator for the Cayman Islands Hospital. The incubator is due to arrive by the end of the year as the result of efforts by Ailian and Sean Evans – the leaders of Team Nolan -- and the Cayman Heart Fund. The campaign to raise money for the piece of medical equipment came after Team Nolan donated about CI$45,000 to CHF. Part of that money was allocated toward the incubator, which the Health Services Authority’s neonatal intensive care unit said was badly needed for Cayman. Evans, a member of the fund’s board of directors, became an advocate for neonatal care after her 7-month-old son, Nolan, died in 2018 from a complex congenital heart defect. The incubator will be used to move babies who need specialised treatment from one medical facility to another. It is portable, customisable and provides protection from the environment, possible infections, noise and drafts. In addition, the incubator has ventilation, temperature controls, enables quick and easy access to babies for intubation or CPR, and allows for blood pressure and cardio/respiratory monitoring. Money donated for neonatal transport incubator Members of Team Nolan and Cayman Heart Fund presents HSA NICU staff with a cheque to go towards the purchase of a new neonatal transport incubator. MARK MUCKENFUSS mmuckenfuss@compassmedia.ky Despite some reports that the rollout of the new curriculum in government primary schools has encountered major problems, teachers and administrators at Sir John A. Cumber Primary say implementing the new programme has gone relatively smoothly. They also say the new curriculum is a significant step up from what was previously being taught. “I think it’s a massive improvement,” said Sarah Crowley, numeracy specialist for the school. Crowley, who spent her early years in Cayman, but was largely raised and educated in the US, has been teaching at Sir John A. Cumber since 2012. “I think it’s something we’ve needed in education here for a long time,” Crowley said of the curriculum, which is a slightly modified version of a system being used in the UK. “If we can reach the goal we’ve set for ourselves, looking forward into the future, it will really benefit Cayman.” In January and March of this year, a team of officials from the Ministry of Education, including Minister Juliana O’Connor- Connolly, travelled to London to tour British schools and see the curriculum in practice. In April, Cayman teachers first got a look at a ‘rough draft’ of the material and were given the opportunity to begin employing some of it before the system was fully implemented at the start of this school year. The ministry did not provide a requested figure on the cost of the new programme. Jovanna Wright, in her first year as principal at Sir John A. Cumber, said the new curriculum provides a way for her school to return to the higher standards she experienced as a student there. “The principal and teachers I had here, they were the reason I went into education,” Wright said. “I cried when I had to leave the school.” With that, she feels an added sense of responsibility. “As a nation, we’ve lowered our standards,” Wright said. She sees the new curriculum as at least a partial remedy to that. It raises performance standards and requires students to have higher skill levels at earlier stages. One of the major challenges, Wright said, is the big difference between what the new standards dictate and how much students currently know. The new curriculum provides a greater emphasis on such things as grammar, reading skills, investigative science and social studies, the latter of which has been tailored for the Cayman Islands. “Our children are so far behind, we have to fill the gaps,” she said. Accomplishing that, Wright explained, will be part of what she referred to as a “long, rough year”. “This will be the most difficult year,” she said. “Once we lay everything out, we should be fine after that.” In addition to transforming the curriculum, the Department of Education has provided schools with more resources to help accomplish the needed changes, Wright said, adding, “The teachers have never had this much support before.” Each class at Sir John A. Cumber from reception to Year 3 has a full-time teaching assistant, she said. From Years 4-6, there are three assistant teachers for every four classes. In addition, the school has an occupational therapist -- who has an assistant -- two psychologists, a speech therapist and a specialist for visually- and hearing-impaired students. The school has also established learning programmes before and after school as well as during lunch hour for students who need additional help in getting up to speed. The support that teachers seem to most appreciate, however, is the added resources they’ve been given in the way of prescribed lesson plans, textbooks and workbooks. “I don’t have to go home and spend countless hours thinking about, ‘What strategy am I going to be teaching?’” Erica Greenridge- Daniels, who teaches Year 2, said. “I can open up the book and say, ‘We’re doing this today.’ At 2am, I’d be doing lesson plans. Now, I can do them in two hours or less.” It’s also saving her money. In past years, she said, she spent $500 to $700 per year on learning materials for her students. “This year, I only had to buy stickers.” she said. Providing meaningful and standardised feedback was one of the areas Sir John A. Cumber was found to be weak in during a recent inspection by the Office of Education Standards. But Greenridge-Daniels is a believer. A 30-year veteran of the classroom, she gave the old curriculum a rating of three on a one- to-10 scale. The new programme, she said, rates a nine. “Already, I’m seeing the bulk of them making progress,” she said of her students. The majority, she said are working beyond the targeted performance measures. Of course, the programme’s success will be measured at the end of the year. One of the chronic problems in Cayman’s government schools has been low performance on standardised tests, especially when compared with other students internationally. “We’re pretty confident that at the end of the year, they’ll be where they need to be,” Crowley said, referring to the targets the school has been given. “Just the idea that there’s hope to get there has done much for morale at the school,” Crowley said. Conversations she’s had with peers at Prospect and Red Bay primary schools, she said, led her to believe that Sir John A. Cumber is representative of what’s taking place systemwide. However, there have been anonymous complaints from some schools about problems with implementing the new curriculum. Two school principals who indicated the new programme was going well at their schools and who agreed to speak on the subject, later rescinded those offers, saying they had been told by Department of Education officials not to speak to the Compass. Repeated requests for interviews and information on the new curriculum from officials at the department and the Ministry of Education have been either referred to other officials or ignored. The ministry has hired a public relations firm to put together a media campaign on the new curriculum. It was originally planned to be unveiled in October but was then delayed. O’Connor-Connolly, who has mentioned the curriculum in public speeches, but has provided little in the way of details, said she expects the campaign to be ready sometime in January. She said she would not comment on the curriculum until then. Sir John A. Cumber teachers happy with new curriculum Key objectives of new curriculum • Raise performance standards • Require students to have higher skill levels at earlier stages • Increase emphasis on grammar, reading skills, investigative science and social studies (tailored for Cayman) John A. Cumber teacher Cleodean Cooper engages with students in her classroom. 6C amana Bay hosts a slew of festive events from now through Christmas and guests of all ages are encouraged to participate in a range of annual traditions, weekly festivities, giveaways and opportunities to give back. The annual tree lighting evening, held on 16 Nov., was a big success and drew a large crowd, despite Mother Nature’s efforts to dampen people’s spirits. The Christmas tree now stands proud on the Crescent, like a lighthouse beacon for the Parade of Lights, which will be held in early December. Get there early to have the best vantage point of brightly illuminated boats sailing through the Camana Bay Harbour. There are multiple opportunities to shop at markets over the next month. Stuff your stockings while supporting local artisans at the annual Pink Ladies Christmas Bazaar at the Arts & Recreation Centre, the Visual Arts Society Christmas Craft Market and the weekly Farmers & Artisans Market, which runs every Wednesday until 18 Dec. Make memories with family photos with Santa Claus, party it up at Mistletoe at Abacus or take in a movie under the stars at Christmas Moonlight & Movies. The Camana Bay Christmas Give benefits the Cayman Food Bank, and there are plenty of opportunities to give back. Donate food at the Camana Bay Visitor Centre, be among the first on Grand Cayman to watch ‘Frozen 2’ at the film’s premiere at Camana Bay Cinema or stay fit with a fun and jolly jog around the Town Centre in the Santa Run. Stay tuned to Camana Bay’s social media channels for chances to win spot prizes throughout the season. Make sure to share holiday snaps from the Town Centre with the hashtags #CamanaBay and #HomeoftheHolidays for more chances to be seen and selected for special seasonal prizes. Here is the full calendar so you don’t miss a moment. ‘Frozen 2’ premiere benefitting the Camana Bay Christmas Give Thursday, 21 Nov., 6pm, Camana Bay Cinema See ‘Frozen 2’ at Camana Bay Cinema for a special viewing on Thursday. Tickets can be purchased at the Camana Bay Visitor Centre. Tickets are $25 per person or get a family pack of four for $80. Donate non- perishable food items to the Visitor Centre and receive a voucher for a free small popcorn and drink to enjoy during the screening. All proceeds support the Cayman Food Bank. Pink Ladies Annual Christmas Bazaar Saturday, 30 Nov., 2-5pm, the Arts & Recreation Centre Join the ladies for their annual charity fundraiser where you can experience delicious homemade tea, distinctive handmade crafts, a white elephant sale, a silent auction and special performances. Cayman National’s Parade of Lights Saturday, 7 Dec., 6pm, the Crescent Experience the magic and delight of brightly-coloured illuminated boats as they parade through the harbour to the melodious sounds of choirs. While the parade is on, enjoy live music and a special visit from Santa. You may even catch a glimpse of Frosty or one of Santa’s elves and a photo booth or two. Visual Arts Society Christmas Craft Market Saturday, 14 Dec., 10am-5pm, the Paseo In case you haven’t started your Christmas shopping, enjoy this market to browse handmade art, jewellery, crafts, ornaments and more for the perfect gift with a local touch. Santa Run hosted by the Cayman Food Bank Saturday, 14 Dec., 6am, registration; 6:30am, run begins; the Paseo Join Cayman Food Bank and a procession of merry Santas on a jog for a cause around Camana Bay for some festive, family- friendly fun. For more details and to register, visit camanabay.com. Proceeds raised will benefit the Cayman Food Bank. Christmas Moonlight & Movies Tuesday, 17 Dec., 7pm, the Crescent Get cosy al fresco with your loved ones for a joyful family flick shown on the giant blow-up screen on the Crescent this one special night. The featured movie will be announced in the upcoming weeks. 12th Annual Mistletoe Party Friday, 20 Dec., 7pm-2am, Abacus Transform your glam with your best whites and boogie under the stars the entire night at the must-attend event of the season. Music, food and drink are all on tap. Tickets are $30 per person and proceeds will benefit the Lions Club of Grand Cayman. Don't let this festive party pass you by. All that's missing is the snow. For tickets and more details call 623-8282. Weekly Festivities Farmers & Artisans Market Wednesdays, through 18 Dec., the Paseo Camana Bay’s popular weekly Farmers & Artisans Market offers local keepsakes, fresh produce and arts and crafts, which make the perfect Christmas gift. The final market of the year will take place on Wednesday, 18 Dec. and the first market of 2020 will be on 8 Jan. See what's in store and buy local! Santa photos by Picture This Studios Thursdays/Saturdays, 5-21 Dec., 5-7pm/3-5pm, Gardenia Court/ the Island Youngsters can enjoy the merry old elf in his traditional Christmas attire and capture the memories with him every Thursday in Gardenia Court from 5-7pm until the end of the holiday season. Alternatively, put a tropical spin on things by posing with Saint Nick in his best island wardrobe every Saturday on the Island from 3-5pm. Sessions start at $35 per family and include a set of digital copies. You can purchase prints for an additional fee. For more information, contact Picture This Studios at 943-3686. Give back by supporting Cayman Food Bank at the non-profit organisation’s Santa Run on Saturday, 14 Dec. Music lovers have two great reasons to head to XQ’s on Saturday night: Some of Cayman’s best musicians will be playing live and funds raised will be donated to The Breast Cancer Foundation. The evening begins at 7:30pm with a Champagne reception and hors d’oeuvres as the Deja Blu band takes to the ‘stage’. Deja Blu boasts a wide repertoire of songs, featuring hits from multiple decades. There will also be prizes to be won throughout the night and guest performers. Tickets are only $25 and are available at XQ's Restaurant on West Bay Road, Full of Beans in George Town and The Breast Cancer Foundation in the Shoppes at Grand Harbour. Visit www.xqs.ky or call 947-9770 for more information. XQ’s musical evening supports charity CAMANA BAY Christmas calendar The Camana Bay Christmas tree illuminates the harbour. 7Researcher aims to regrow coral Dr. David Vaughan hired by port project team JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@compassmedia.ky A scientist whose methods have been heralded as a potential game-changer in the emerging field of growing corals has been recruited as part of the mitigation plan for the cruise port. The Verdant Isle consortium behind the $200 million construction project, which involves dredging more than 10 acres of coral reef habitat, hope the involvement of Dr. David Vaughan will help them offset some of that damage. The Florida Keys-based scientist is known for developing a microfragmenting technique which has been shown, in lab tests, to allow corals to grow significantly faster than they would in nature. The method differs from other coral-growing projects because it can be used for massive slow-growing corals, like mountainous star corals and brain corals, considered the building blocks of ancient reef systems. These corals typically grow at a rate of a millimetre a month. Vaughan believes his techniques make it possible to grow these corals quickly and out-plant them to dying reefs. He said the method could be used to “reskin” a 100-year-old piece of dead brain coral with live tissue within two years. He has started a foundation, ‘Plant a Million Corals’, to help restore reef systems under threat from factors ranging from climate change and disease to marine construction. Cayman lab Verdant Isle recently announced plans to support Vaughan to Scientists break up the coral fragment into tiny pieces – a process known as micro-fragmenting. This stimulates a chemical response likened to wound healing in humans that helps them grow at a faster rate After six months the regrown pieces are ‘planted’ on to the skeleton of a dead coral head. As they grow the pieces fuse to- gether to form one organism. Dr. Vaughan says that within two years, the pieces form a full coral head similar in size to a 25-75-year-old wild coral. the tune of $500,000 a year to set up a lab and coral nursery in Grand Cayman. The project would be funded through income from cruise-ship passenger fees, according to TJ O’Sullivan, of Royal Caribbean, one of the partners in the consortium. Vaughan said the aim would be to have a central location near the port where people could see the work in action. He said he could work with others currently involved in coral- replanting projects in the Cayman Islands to help revive ailing reefs. He acknowledged the partnership with a consortium whose project will impact a significant amount of coral reef habitat was an unlikely marriage. But he said he believed that if the port project was going to happen, some good could come of it. “If you came to me and said, ‘Dave, would you like to cut down a tree?’ I would say no. ‘Would you like to kill a coral?’ No. ‘Would I like to move a coral?’ Well, only if I have to.” But he said demonstrating the effectiveness of this method on a large scale could be influential to saving reefs around the Caribbean. High hopes His work is getting attention in the US. While there are other efforts around the world to grow new coral, “this is easily the most promising restoration project that I am aware of”, Billy Causey, a coral expert who oversees marine sanctuaries for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told The New York Times in 2014. Doubts persist, however, about the feasibility of planting and regrowing coral on the scale envisaged by Verdant Isle. The Central Caribbean Marine Institute, has warned that there is little scientific research to support the idea, being promoted at recent public meetings, that the technique could be used to regrow 10 times the amount of coral removed for the pier. On a recent trip to Grand Cayman, Vaughan explained the origin of his microfragmenting technique was a “silly mistake”. He said he had been working, as director of the Mote Tropical Research Laboratory in Florida, to grow corals in an aquarium, when he accidentally broke a small piece 8of elkhorn coral into tiny fragments. The broken pieces doubled in size within a week. Recent research suggests this acceleration in growth could be a defence mechanism corals have evolved as a response to parrotfish bites. Vaughan likens the process to “wound healing” where the injury prompts a chemical response that stimulates regrowth. Harnessing this reaction, he says he can break up and regrow multiple fragments from the same ‘parent’ in just a few months. By out-planting 50 of these onto a dead chunk of coral, “like a pepperoni pizza” - he said he can effectively regrow a coral the size of a kitchen table in a few years. As the coral pieces grow, they reconnect with each other, effectively reskinning the dead coral with live tissue. Because they are from the same parent, the fragments recognise and fuse with each other. “We are putting new live tissue in little pieces like a jigsaw puzzle that will reform into however-many-year-old coral and, yes, we think they are going to start acting like adult corals,” he said. CCMI: No evidence scientists can recreate a reef Restoration techniques “unproven” at this scale BY CARRIE MANFRINO Director, CCMI Research aimed at improving the survival of corals has exploded in the last five years especially because it is widely accepted that corals are among the most threatened animals on Earth. The United Nations Environment Programme estimates that one-fifth of reefs worldwide are dead, and that 90% may disappear completely within 30 years. Coral reefs in many locations are degraded and a wide variety of restoration approaches have emerged. Research labs, including our own at the Central Caribbean Marine Institute, have made great progress in improving the ‘fitness’ of corals so they are more resilient. While there has been enormous progress, the scientific knowledge needed to regrow a coral reef is still is in its infancy. The greatest challenge will be finding suitable habitats and environmental conditions for restoration to succeed. The survival of corals restored and relocated can vary from 80% success to 100% mortality. Concern over port claims We are especially concerned about the claims by Verdant Isle that Dr David Vaughan can regrow new reefs in Cayman as a tradeoff to destroying the reefs in our harbour. The VIPP team report that the micro-fragmenting technique in the Florida Keys has had success in the labs growing 50% of Caribbean coral species. They have successfully grown a total of only five large individual (metre-scale) mound corals. Scientists are not yet capable of regenerating a complex reef. No project anywhere in the world has been able to replicate, restore or transplant a coral reef system with the same biodiversity of a natural reef. Coral reefs are rightly compared to tropical rain forests in terms of species numbers and biodiversity. Current science aimed at reef restoration could be compared to being able to grow a few plants taken from the forest – but it cannot replicate or even come close to establishing the complex, multi-species eco-system found in nature. Key problems outlined We believe the most significant problems are: • Coral mortality after two to three years at many restoration sites can be 100%. Long-term monitoring of restoration sites is limited, so success is often unknown beyond a short timeframe post-project. • We have found no large-scale long-term evidence of successfully recreating the biodiversity of a reef anywhere in the world. • The George Town Harbour pier project will require the removal of approximately 22 acres where live coral reef, significant reef structure, limestone bedrock, and carbonate sand currently deposit. The immediate area has extraordinary marine life. In a rapid assessment of five sites along the west side of Grand Cayman, CCMI found coral cover is highest in the harbour (up to 58%) and averages 23%. Dredging and cruise ship operations will also compromise reefs adjacent to the dredged area. • Live reef structure reduces wave energy, surge and erosion. Reefs are at risk if water quality degrades and light penetration is reduced due to construction and operations. Whether reefs are degraded or removed to make way for the pier, they will have less potential for protecting the island from storms. • Polaris Applied Sciences are proposing to relocate a large number of corals to two sites. Work on this scale is risky and success cannot be guaranteed. Two current Grand Cayman restoration projects to repair damage caused by a cruise ship at Eden Rock and a large yacht in West Bay are being cited as successful by the project engineers. Neither site has recovered. At the Eden Rock site, our team measured around 7% coral cover which is three times less that other nearby reefs. The engineers are claiming that their restoration at West Bay resulted in 89% survival (after two years). However, they relocated less than a quarter of the coral at the site, so the overall impact has been a loss of more than 80% coral cover. • Stakeholders are being asked to believe that the microfragmenting technique is the solution for coral restoration and they will be able to grow large corals, equivalent to hundreds of years of growth, within a few years. This has not been accomplished to any scale. The survival of the microfragments in the Florida Keys reefs is minimal due to disease outbreak and predation, as outlined in the project peer-reviewed paper. • The restoration group is proposing to grow 10 corals for every one coral that is removed. By chopping up corals into micro-fragments, corals can indeed grow fast. Large numbers of tiny corals have been successfully grown in labs; however, the claims of growing large colonies are misleading. Vaughan acknowledged at a public meeting that he had successfully grown only five coral colonies (by fusing microfragments). The microfragmenting technique has been well known for 30 years and is yet to be scaled to the levels being promoted as part of the George Town dock project. • It is risky to get into a contract to relocate and restore our reefs without having a detailed plan that is approved by ecologists, international restoration experts, and experts at the Department of Environment. • Producing 1 million micro-fragments (from 400 corals) in 12 months, as was promised in radio interviews, is not realistic or practical. The engineers on the project estimated between 150,000 and 180,000 corals in the harbour. They have said they will produce 10 new corals for every coral they remove. This means they are planning to grow up to 1.8 million microfragments. Not only would this be an unprecedented technical feat but considering it has taken two years to produce ‘only’ 25,000 micro- fragments, at that rate it would take them 20 years to produce 250,000 micro- fragments, and 120 years to produce 1.5 million micro-fragments. We support innovative solutions that pioneer the protection or restoration of coral reefs, but feel the community should clearly understand that this has never been accomplished anywhere in the world. We know that the risk to the Cayman marine environment is enormous. Restoration techniques are in a race against time to support ailing reefs – they should not be promoted as a like-for-like mitigation technique because they are not proven at this scale. Visit gov.ky/strongeconomy to learn more 75 new police officers keeping communities safe RCIPS app launched 144 Fire Services and 240 Border Control team members 486 RCIPS team members Carrie Manfrino Dr. Vaughan (left) has developed a technique that allows corals to grow faster than they would in nature. 9Next >