Science and Nature

(CNS): A group of independent scientists say that the release of genetically modified mosquitoes in the Cayman Islands, Malaysia and Brazil was not sufficiently transparent or properly regulated which risks undermining the research of what they say is promising technology. The German scientists published a paper on Monday based on their analysis of the insect release which found a deficit in the scientific quality of regulatory documents and a general absence of accurate experimental descriptions available to the public before the release started. 

(CNS Business): Drivers keen to go green with an electric car, ready for the implementation in the next few weeks of the traffic law that will allow electric vehicles on Cayman’s roads, can now borrow the money from the Caledonian Bank, which has become the first institution to offer car loans for electric vehicles and has partnered with Cayman Automotive to help drivers reduce their carbon foot print. Drivers will soon be able to charge their electric vehicles free at one of 12 solar panel stations planned across Grand Cayman. Read more on CNS Business

(CNS): The invasive lionfish will be on the chopping block at this year’s Taste of Cayman food festival on Saturday as chefs demonstrate how to clean, prepare and cook this ocean pest which is threatening Cayman’s reefs. Local firm Home Gas will be sponsoring Lionfish Cooking Demonstrations at the Bon Vivant Kitchen during the festival where four local chefs will show safe handling procedures and how to prepare delicious dishes with the tasty but unwelcome fish. As the biggest threat to our beautiful reefs, organisers said it is important that the public learn how they can help keep the lionfish at bay, not just through culling efforts but by eating them as well.

(CNS): Having committed to protecting important and significant wildlife that maybe at risk in its road plans Dart said Wednesday it had saved some rare bushes that were identified on the planned new by-pass road to West Bay. Officials from the firm revealed in a release that some rare Washwood trees were being gated off and protected from the road development. During last summer Dart had worked with local environmentalist, Ann Stafford, and a concerted effort was made to preserve rare and endangered species. The Discovery of the Wash Wood Trees (Jacquinia keyensis), between Yacht Drive and the eventual intersection of Esterley Tibbetts Highway Extension with Batabano Road led to steps to protect them.

(CNS): Despite being an endangered species, there has never been a survey of the rock iguanas on Cayman Brac until now. Usually in the shadow of its blue cousin on Grand Cayman, this month the Brac iguanas have become the centre of intense focus as the Department of Environment began an in depth population survey of this unique sub-species of Cuban rock iguanas, found only on the Brac and Little Cayman. Some twenty researchers and volunteers are involved and the current total is 63 is climbing as a result of the help coming from Brackers, in particular school children who have become involved in the spotting process.

(CNS):As part of the islands collaborative effort to fight the increasing numbers of lionfish in Cayman waters Red Sail Sports are beginning a monthly one tank dive on the last Saturday of the every month for volunteers who are already trained to catch the marine invader. Starting this month (28 January) the dives will be free of charge and the fish caught will be cleaned and delivered to the fish market at Foster’s Food Fair on Monday morning where the supermarket hopes it will become a regular choice for local cooks. “If weather conditions permit, the first dives will hunt for Lionfish on the lesser-dived reefs of the island’s North Side and East End where they have thrived,” said Rod McDowall Red Sail Sports Operations Manager.

(CNS): Fears that genetically modified mosquitoes had bred and produced surviving offspring in the local population of insects are unfounded the director of Cayman’s Mosquito Research & Control Unit has said. Bill Petrie said that after the research study in Cayman undertaken by Oxitec the mosquitoes did not persist in the environment and there was a significant reduction in the local population of the pest. A report revealed by Genewatch UK and other activist NGOs this week showed that not all of the GM mosquitoes used by the UK firm were actually sterile as claimed by the company and their offspring had survived and mixed with local populations.

(CNS): A new atlas compiled after an eleven month study in the Lesser Antilles has revealed the current state of endangered sea birds in the region. Environmental Protection in the Caribbean’s (EPIC) Seabird Breeding Atlas is the first of its kind to document the birds in the area as many existing records are based on anecdotal notes from the early 19th century. Globally, seabirds are among the most threatened of bird groups, with 80% of species in decline and 90-99% of seabirds lost from tropical islands. Prior to European contact, it is believed there were tens of millions of seabirds breeding in the Caribbean region, now there are under two million.

(CNS): White-tentacled anemones and eyeless shrimps and are among the new forms of life scientists have found thriving near the super-hot underwater vents in the Cayman Trench this week One group of Scientists from the National Oceanography Centre have discovered a six centermetre long shrimp with no eyes but a light-sensing organ on its back  in an undersea hot spring. Named Rimicaris hybisae researchers says it is related to a species called Rimicaris exoculata previously discovered in the mid-Atlantic ridge. The vent, in which this latest kind of shrimp was found discharges thick black smoke and reaches a scorching 450 degrees Celsius and is rich in minerals such as copper.

(Washington Post): In an effort to sustain commercial and recreational fishing for the next several decades, the United States this year will become the first country to impose catch limits for every species it manages, from Alaskan pollock to Caribbean queen conch.  Although the policy has attracted scant attention outside the community of those who fish in America and the officials who regulate them, it marks an important shift in a pursuit that has helped define the country since its founding. Unlike most recent environmental policy debates, which have divided neatly along party lines, this one is about a policy that was forged under President George W. Bush and finalized with President Obama’s backing.

(CNS): Although government finished its last round of public consultation on the long awaited national conservation bill more than one year ago, it has not yet decided how to move forward with the critical legislation. The minister responsible stated that the law was a priority for his ministry when he was elected to office in May 2009 but more than two and a half years later the bill remains stalled. Jennifer Ahearn, the chief officer in the ministry, told CNS Thursday that despite collecting considerable public input no decision has yet been made about moving the bill forward. (Photo by Dennie Warren JR)

(CNS): International marine scientists working in the Cayman Islands over the last few years studying local populations of mega marine fauna, in particular sharks and rays, have found far fewer species of sharks in local waters than they would have expected. Dr Mauvis Gore revealed that although researchers have counted sixteen different types of sharks and rays the scientists had expected to see more than a dozen other species in Cayman. Speaking at a special presentation hosted by the department of the environment, summarising their work the scientists said there was a strong case for Cayman to introduce protection for sharks in local waters.

(CNS): A group of scientists heading to the region this month are embarking on a marine expedition to the Cayman Trench to gather the first ever species samples from the hydrothermal vents found there in 2009. Marine experts aboard the research vessel Atlantis with the use of a deep-diving robot are expecting to find dozens of new species in one of the most extreme and least explored places on the planet. The Mid Cayman ridge, a rift in the seafloor some 70 miles long and more than 9 miles deep is home to two seafloor chimneys  - the Von Damm and the Piccard which emit scalding chemically altered seawater that could offer clues to how life first evolved on earth.

(Caribbean Journal): Barbados is urging seafarers to report any sightings of the invasive lionfish species, which has been spreading across the Caribbean, from Jamaica to Cayman. The recent capture of a specimen off the west coast of Barbados was the first confirmed sighting of the fish in the country, and what could mark a slow increase in their numbers of the coming months, according to the Fisheries Division. The country is now implementing the second phase of the Lionfish Response Plan, which was drafted by the Natural Heritage Department earlier this year in collaboration with several other agencies, including the University of the West Indies.

(CNS): Over 600 government workers located at the Government Administration Building (GAB) are being encouraged to help the environment by recycling cans in 30 containers now placed in government offices. Officials said the small green recycling containers will be cleared daily and emptied in DoEH’s large blue container now located outside the building. Facility Manager Richard Sanfilippo said that around 700 cans are expected to be collected each day some 200,000 cans per year. He added that it was a positive move that would reduce the impact on the George Town landfill.