Cayman Islands: Save Barkers Beach
Save Barkers Beach started this petition to Cayman Islands Government
Our beloved Barkers Beach in West Bay is under an environmental threat! An application for a coastal works license was advertised in a recent newspaper issue on behalf of Adventure in Taste Ltd. by Mr. Handel Whittaker. It is proposed that a 300ft long dock will be constructed and 179,775 square feet of turtle grass removed to create a swim area.
The public has been given until November 29th, 2018 to object or make comment on this application, in writing, addressed to the Chief Officer, Ministry of Financial Services, Commerce and Environment, to the attention of Troy Jacob ([email protected]). Approval for this license is to be given by Cabinet.
This particular area of Barkers is a Marine Park/Replenishment zone and comprises of 800+ acres. It is the second largest of the 10 replenishment zones around Grand Cayman which have been protected since 1986 – all for the sustainability of the seagrass, fish, conch, lobster, turtles and turtle nesting.
This Marine Park is protected under Section 7 and 12 of the National Conversation Law (NCL) which is available to all online.
Previous instances of sea grass removal included the Lawrence Thompson House in the 1990’s, and the Bodden Town public beach prior to this. Research has shown that removal of the natural Seagrass at Bodden Town public beach caused beach erosion of 41 feet – this means that 41 feet of the beach was lost!
Come on Cayman, let’s show our government that we care enough about or environment and that we believe that some things are better left untouched!
