Caribbean Compass Yachting Magazine - April 2021

— Continued from previous page
This training course was funded by the St Vincent &
the Grenadines Conservation Fund.
The Tobago Cays Marine Park.
Six staff members are now certified
to conduct biophysical monitoring.
Visit www.tobagocays.org and facebook.com/
tobagocaysmarinepark for more information.
Waste to Art contest winners announced
Lystra Culzac reports: Environmental Protection in
the Caribbean and Science Initiative for Environmental
Conservation and Education have announced the
winners of their Waste to Art competition held under
the theme “Amazing Seabirds: Our Birds, Our Islands,
Our Future.” The contest was held throughout St.
Vincent & the Grenadines and Grenada in four
categories: Primary Schools, Secondary Schools,
Tertiary Schools and Adults. This contest was an
opportunity for students and the general public to
bring attention to the threat of marine litter to wildlife
and showcase their creativity and knowledge about
seabirds. At the same time, they contributed to a
cleaner and healthier environment by removing
plastics and other waste material from beaches and
seabird habitats.
Darell Lewis from Grenada received first prize in the
Tertiary Schools category.
Twenty-six online entries were judged by a panel of
environmentalists, media personnel and professional
artists. Cash prizes will be awarded to the two top
entries in each category.
First place in the Primary Schools category was
awarded to Kyle Salhab and Zariel Thomas of
Grenada, who used styrofoam, wire, and newspaper
to depict a seashore environment. Second place went
to Allen Lowmans of St. Vincent, who displayed a
Red-Billed Tropicbird.
Secondary school winners were Annique Patterson of
St. Vincent (first place) with the piece “DND” (Do Not
Disturb), which demonstrates the danger to seabirds
of eating plastic, and Janessa Durham of St. Vincent
(second place), who depicted a Least Tern.
In the Tertiary Schools category, Darell Lewis from
Grenada received first prize for a portrayal of the
endangered Black-Capped Petrel, followed by Hannah
Francis and Nazara Cobb from Grenada who received
second prize for their submission showing a Magnificent
Frigatebird flying over a fishing boat.
The Adult category, for persons 18 years and older,
was won by the duo Rowena King-Dasouza and
Sheldon Dasouza of St. Vincent for the piece entitled
“Life Cycle of the Magnificent Frigate Seabird”. Second
place in this category was copped by Glenroy Gaymes
of St. Vincent who portrayed the island of Battowia, a
globally recognized important bird area for seabirds.
CHRIS DOYLE
EPIC and SCIENCE would like to thank all persons
who participated in its contest for contributing to
spreading awareness about marine litter and seabird
conservation in these two island states.
Marine litter is a global threat to wildlife that is now
found in even the most remote regions on the planet.
In 2020, EPIC, SCIENCE, Ocean Spirits and other
local partners conducted five clean-ups at offshore
Grenadine islands, removing numerous bags of waste
from seabird and sea turtle nesting habitat. Items
collected consisted primarily of disposable household
waste such as Styrofoam containers, plastic cutlery
and plastic bottles, while flipflops and fishing gear
were also common. We would like to remind everyone
to be mindful of their waste disposal and to participate
in clean-up initiatives where possible.
This competition was made possible with funding
from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS),
United States Agency for International Development
(USAID), Cape Cod Bird Club, and donors to
Environmental Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC).
Over 1.5 tons of trash removed
from Little Cayman beaches
On March 13th and 14th, the Plastic Free Cayman
team participated in a beach clean up in Little Cayman,
where the environmental group partnered with The Little
Cayman National Trust, the Central Caribbean Marine
Institute, the Department of the Environment, Southern
Cross Club, Little C Tours and Protect Our Future.
Little Cayman’s beaches are cleaner thanks to a
volunteer effort.
The 30 volunteer event, which yielded more than
3,100 pounds (over 1.5 tons) of trash, took place at
three sites: Charles Bright (830 pounds removed),
Mary’s Bay (1,700 pounds removed) and Owen Island
(600 pounds removed).
Most of the debris collected was either plastic or
microplastic based. Each year Plastic Free Cayman
surveys the sister islands in an effort to track the
amount of plastic pollution removed from various
sites. This year the team indicated that the amount of
trash found at each location was overwhelming.
“Mary’s Bay could easily be mistaken for a small
landfill,” observed a volunteer.
PFC founder Claire Hughes continues to push for a
national clean up campaign and plastic ban policy
similar to those on other Caribbean islands.
“As people of such beautiful islands, we have to stop
being a part of the problem and start being a part of
solution. If we just make simple changes like using
reusable bags when shopping or a bamboo toothbrush,
we will stop being a part of the plastic epidemic,” said
Protect Our Future leader Dejea Lyons.
Read the full story at www.loopcayman.com/content/
volunteers-remove-3100-lbs-plastic-little-cayman-beaches
Grenada looks at reducing yacht waste
The Grenada Tourism Authority reports: Grenada is
taking steps to further protect its marine environment
by working with the Caribbean Public Health Agency
(CARPHA) to develop a public-private sector partnership
to reduce marine waste coming from pleasure vessels
such as yachts.
The project, dubbed Integrating Water, Land and
Ecosystem Management in the Caribbean for Small
Island Developing States, will examine Grenada and
Carriacou’s current capacity and create research-based
solutions to deal with waste in an eco-friendly manner.
Additionally, Grenada is set to implement a marine
waste management policy with amendments to the
existing legislation and the introduction of
accompanying regulations. This policy is aimed at
setting up a management system for marine waste
management, including monitoring, funding, penalties
and cost structures. Confident that this is a positive
action to manage Grenada’s fisheries sustainably,
Permanent Secretary (Ag.) with responsibility for
Fisheries and Co-operatives in the Ministry of Sports,
Culture and the Arts, Fisheries & Co-operatives
Michael Stephen stated, “Grenada is an International
Maritime Organization (IMO) member and will comply
with measures to improve the safety and security of
international shipping and to prevent marine pollution
from ships.”
The Grenada Ports Authority (GPA) is the country’s
focal point for international maritime matters falling
under the auspices of the IMO. General Manager
Carlyle Felix affirmed, “The Grenada Ports Authority
reiterates its support for the proposed policy and looks
forward to a timely adoption of the IMO’s Caribbean
Small Commercial Vessels Code. We are convinced that
its adoption will promote cleaner seas, which is one of
the pillars of an ocean-based economy.”
Speaking of these important steps in marine waste
management, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of
Tourism, Civil Aviation, Climate Resilience and the
Environment Desiree Stephen said, “Grenada is a geotourism
destination in which the marine environment is
significant to the livelihoods of many Grenadians, for
fishing, diving, tourism and recreation. Taking these
important steps now will ensure that future generations
will be able to reap economic and other benefits.”
To support these and other activities in the local
yachting sector including destination marketing is the
newly formed Grenada Tourism Authority Subcommittee
on Yachting. The members are Karen Stiell representing
the Marine and Yachting Association of Grenada
(MAYAG), Nicholas George representing sportfishing,
Charlotte Fairhead representing Camper & Nicholson
Port Louis Marina, and GTA Nautical Development
Manager Nikoyan Roberts. The subcommittee is
energised about further maximising Grenada’s position
as the gateway to the Grenadines and a globally
recognised responsible yachting destination.
The project aims to create research-based solutions
to deal with vessel-based waste
in an eco-friendly manner.
SERGE MELKI
CHRIS DOYLE
APRIL 2021 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 11