OCEAN CONSERVATION MONTH

Jessica Harvey at registration table (center) with happy volunteers. The “trash team” (bottom page right) gathered a mountain of debris.

Ocean Conservation Month by Louisa Gibson

What better way to raise awareness of conservation than to spend an entire month celebrating our oceans? That’s why the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation (GHOF) presented the 2nd Annual Ocean Conservation Month in March 2019 in the Cayman Islands.

We chose “Generations” as the theme because each generation has the desire to pass down a healthy and balanced natural resource to their children and grandchildren. It also provided a platform to share multi-generational knowledge, goals, and compassion for not only conservation but for our natural world, our cultural heritage, and the creative ways in which we express ourselves.

A wide variety of events were hosted throughout the month for all members of the community and industry professionals to enjoy. The month kicked off with a lionfish cull tournament on March 2nd, which removed 461 invasive lionfish from reefs all over Grand Cayman, and ended on April 5th with the 4th Annual Fundraising Cocktail Party. In between, GHOF celebrated with children’s readings, an ecotourism management discussion, fishing tournaments, documentary showings, and so much more. The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) also got involved and hosted a kids’ fishing clinic in partnership with the Cayman Islands Angling Club. At the clinic, children and their parents moved from booth to booth learning about fishing techniques and conservation regulations, and collected “passport stamps” before trying out their new skills. Kids lined the docks with hooks in the water to catch and release the fish living underneath. GHOF also set up a game fishing training station where they learned about the rod and reel, and how to sport fish according to IGFA rules.

On March 31st, GHOF partnered with other local NGOs and government organizations for a Family Fun Day on the beach, filled with ocean-themed and educational activities, including story book readings, face painting, paddle boarding, games, and informational booths. Plastic Free Cayman attended the event and shared their goals of “raising awareness to the growing issues surrounding plastic pollution and helping others on their plastic-free journey” through an informational booth and family activities, which influenced making conscious decisions regarding waste in everyday life. The Cayman Islands Department of Environment was also on hand to share knowledge of local marine parks and conservation laws related to vulnerable species in the Cayman Islands. Guests of the Family Fun Day learned worthy conservation lessons through

fun and play, and the event was a big hit for all involved, with excitement to do it all again next year.

Appropriately, during Ocean Conservation Month, the Cayman Islands achieved a significant and long-awaited milestone with an expansion of national Marine Park Areas from approximately 14% to 48% of the surrounding waters. The expansion was facilitated by almost 10 years of scientific research and will benefit marine and coastal wildlife and habitats, in addition to the Cayman Islands tourism industry. The achievement also sets a precedent for other Caribbean nations to follow suit and increase protections within their territorial waters.

Shark Talk 2019

A major component, and the catalyst of Ocean Conservation Month, is Shark Talk, an annual initiative sponsored by the Kenneth B. Dart Foundation, which invites every child in the Cayman Islands to watch Guy Harvey documentaries on the big screen, followed by question and answer sessions with conservation experts. This year, GHOF educated over 1,000 local children on the plight of sharks and what their generation can do to help, through a showing of Guy Harvey’s inspirational documentary, This is Their Ocean: Sea of Life.

The film features two teenagers from the Cayman Islands who embarked on a journey of a lifetime to Isla Mujeres, Mexico, to come face to face with the largest fish in the sea, the whale shark. The duo learned about human threats whale sharks face in the open ocean and were inspired to share their experience and new knowledge of the importance of ocean conservation with their family and peers when the expedition was over. This is Their Ocean: Sea of Life is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

Shark Talk is not limited to the Cayman Islands, and in 2017, was brought to Puerto Rico by GHOF and conservation foundation Pesca, Playa y Ambiente. Shark Talk Puerto Rico travelled the islands and got children, families, and people of the fishing community involved to listen to conservation presentations, watch documentaries, and engage in educational discussions at local schools and marinas. Similar events take place on the annual Norwegian Cruise Line’s Conservation Cruise with Guy Harvey and GHOF in October 2019.

The next stop for Shark Talk, it is hoped, will be Florida in the coming years. Likewise, the future of Ocean Conservation Month does not lie solely in the Cayman Islands. With big goals and big love for the ocean, GHOF hopes to have the month formally recognized by the Cayman Islands government in 2020, followed by it celebrated in the wider Caribbean and U.S. shortly after.