Sharks and Cetaceans Report and Policy Survey
In 2009 the Department of Environment and partner organisations Marine Conservation International and the Save Our Seas Foundation, with funding from the Overseas Territory Environment Programme, and with the involvement of the Guy Harvey Research Institute, undertook to investigate both the status and value of sharks and rays (elasmobranchs), and of whales and dolphins (cetaceans) in Cayman waters. Now, in the summer of 2012, the first stages of this research have been completed and a report synthesising the results has been produced for the public in downloadable PDF form.
In view of these findings the research partners have developed policy recommendations that seek to protect elasmobranchs and cetacean populations around the Cayman Islands, and especially on Little Cayman. It is now time for the public to review the report and tell the Department of Environment what they think of the policy options. The Department of Environment welcomes contributions from interested persons on the appropriateness and significance of various policy options.
After reading the report you can respond by completing the online consultation at www.surveymonkey.com/s/ZL5X5SP or by emailing the Department of Environment directly with your opinions. For more information, or to register your opinion, please contact Lizy Gardner, Lizy.Garder@gov.ky, 916 7585. (Lizy is a Masters Student from the University of York, conducting the survey as part of her M.Sc. project.)
The survey will formally close on the 7th of September 2012.
