Reef Protection Public Awareness Campaign, CaymentNetNews, 11/04/06

A new programme,  “Twelve Reasons Why Healthy Coral Reefs Are Important,” is designed to go in step with the twelve days of Christmas and the gifts that were given.

The institute will deliver a vital reason why supporting healthy reefs should be a top priority. With nine weeks left until the holiday, Dr Carrie Manfrino, CCMI’s president, offered reason three this week, that coral reefs moderate the Earth’s tropical climate.  “Our curriculum in 2006 has been focused on the importance of healthy reefs.  The first “gift” of coral reefs is the protection they give our shorelines,” she said.

“The second is providing sand for the beach.  Of the myriad benefits coral reefs provide our community these first three are the most visible and probably the most easily understood.”

Beginning in January, the organization plans to release detailed press articles and items with weblinks that develop each of these themes as part of a monthly CCMI Reef Report Series.

Awareness of the important role healthy reefs play in the lives of all Caymanians is an essential component of CCMI’s education and outreach mission, the institute said.

Researchers and workshop leaders hope that by educating the community about the threats facing the reefs today they can protect and maintain them as valuable resources for future generations.

“Coral reefs rank among the most endangered environments on earth and the reefs of the Cayman Islands are among the most important in the world,” added Dr Manfrino.

“Our goal is to try to maintain and improve our reefs during a time when coral reefs are declining globally. This is a difficult and perhaps an impossible task but through this programme we can at least provide information to increase the awareness of how important our reefs are to the quality of life in Cayman.”

She said that many people just want to understand what is happening to our reefs and what they can do to help improve the local reef system.

“ We hope this programme will provide a new level of understanding and concern.”

CCMI Executive Council Member Nikki McCoy said that the Christmas period was a great time to remind people of the importance of protecting reefs.

“Using the Holiday Season as a way of recognizing our many blessings and natural resources, including our coral reefs and their potential benefits to the community, is a fitting way to tie this all back to our mission and strategic focus,” she added.

Protection of reefs is also one of the things at the heart of the campaign to Keep Dolphins Free in the Cayman Islands.

Although the Government has granted a moratorium on the development of any more Dolphinariums in the Cayman Islands, environmentalists are concerned that the two which are being allowed will damage the reefs around the Cayman Islands.

William Adam who is heading up the local campaign has been joined this week during the Florida Caribbean Cruise Conference, (FCCA) by Dr. Naomi Rose of the Humane Society of the United States, Martha Gilkes, Antigua and Barbuda Independent Tourism Promotion Council, and Christine O’Sullivan, Jamaica Environment Trust as well as local activists to help promote the message and raise awareness of the potential problems associated with Dolphinariums.

The experts say that the damage caused by concentrations of Dolphin waste and excess food in Dolphinariums which infiltrates into the localised ocean area is well documented.

Since 1998 the Central Caribbean Marine Institute said that it has been guided by its mission to conduct and facilitate coral reef research, provide education and outreach programs that will sustain marine diversity for future generations.

CCMI’s Little Cayman Research Centre (LCRC) is becoming a leading marine science facility.

In the first full summer season (2006), LCRC attracted 20 leading scientists, and hosted college undergraduate and graduate students to its field station and labs.

LCRC is also the home of Caribbean Sea Camp, a scholarship-funded program that teaches local youths the importance of coral reef conservation.