The A to Z of the Cayman Islands Marine Parks

Information
The Department of puts out information on all aspects of the Marine Parks and the marine environment. Signs giving information are located on the shores of most marine parks and leaflets, laminated maps and stickers are also available. For more information write to the Department of Environment, P.O. Box 486GT or call 949 - 8469 or Channel 17 on the marine VHF.

Juveniles
Protection of juveniles is an important part of the theory behind marine parks. If juveniles are taken before they have a chance to reach maturity and breed then valuable genetic variability between individuals can be lost. During lobster season it is illegal to takes lobsters with a tail of less than 6 inches. For conch there is currently no protection of juveniles, however a mature conch is easily determined by the thickness of the shell lip. If the shell lip of the conch is still thin and fragile then the conch is not yet mature.

King Helmet
Explore the world under the Cayman Islands. The King Helmet (Cassis tuberosa) is one of the most spectacular gastropods of the Caribbean waters and consequently its shell is highly prized as a curio. Once common in these waters this species and its close relatives have become rare as a result of overcollecting. These amazing creatures inhabit seagrass beds and sandy margins where they feed on urchins. The attack of the King Helmet is an amazing process to observe. The speed and ability of the final leap is startling in light of the size and normally slow movements of this creature and the fierce spines of the urchin which do not deter this mollusc in the least. Shell collecting of live or dead specimens is prohibited in the Environmental Zone and Marine Parks. The Marine Conservation Law prohibits the taking of live shells while on SCUBA and since it often difficult to determine what is living in shells underwater it is best to assume they are inhabited and leave them in place.

Lobsters
Many sea creatures to check out. Lobsters are a highly prized and very much threatened species throughout the Caribbean. Reproduction in these creatures is remarkable in that lobsters begin life as a microscopic individual which drifts in the sea for up to one year before they settle to the bottom and grow to adulthood. In Cayman these species are protected all year round in the Environmental Zone, Marine Parks and Replenishment Zones. They are also protected islands wide during the female lobsters egg carrying stages from February 1 through to July 31. During open seasons in areas outside the marine protected areas, individual not on SCUBA can take five Spiny lobsters a day, or fifteen per boat, which ever is less. Lobsters must have a tail length of over six inches to be legally. Care must undertaken to ensure that females carrying eggs are not captured during open seasons.

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