Facts about Cayman's Marine Life
 The greatest attraction in Cayman waters are the fish – from the Shy Hamlet camouflaged in the elk horn coral to majestic whale shark filtering for dinner. Many reef fish tend to stay in one place most of their lives and they grow old very slowly. A two-foot grouper, for example, is approximately fifteen years old. Because they are territorial and grow so slowly it is very easy to overfish a given area of reef. This is why fishing is prohibited in the Marine Parks and Environmental Zone. Visitors may fish by line anywhere outside the protected area but please, don't take more than you can eat.
 Stony corals are what make up the structure of Cayman's reef systems. While they may look like rock, in fact they are colonies of tiny polyps. These brightly coloured polyps can only be seen when they feed, usually at night, but they live on the surface of the coral and are very easily damaged. The limestone structure which they build is also very delicate. It breaks easily and grows back very slowly. Star coral for example grows at less than one half inch per year.
Please be very careful of the stony corals - if you are snorkelling or diving, watch your fins as well as your elbows. Never stand on coral!
Sea fans, sea whips, sea plumes and corky sea fingers are relatives of the stony corals. They are called horny because their skeletons are made of materials like cattle horn. Horny corals consist of colonies of tiny polyps; like stony corals, they are extremely delicate and grow very slowly.
 Some of the most beautiful and varied creatures in the Cayman waters are the sponges. They range from the giant barrel sponge to brightly colored tube and whip sponges. They too are animals – filter feeders which anchor themselves in places where they can sift nutrients out of the water. Please treat these animals with great care and resist the temptation to climb into our giant barrel sponges.
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