Buoys Ordered For Stingray City

Wednesday, January 21, 2004

Less than a week after an article about potential dangers to visitors of Stingray City appeared in Cayman Net News, the Port Authority has said that buoys to create a safe zone at the site have been ordered and will be in place within a matter of weeks.

As reported in a Cayman Net News story of 16 January, and an editorial appearing in the 19 January issue, overcrowding at Stingray City and the Sandbar is creating a possible hazard at the site.

While the buoys, which will form a safety ring around the affected areas in which boats cannot enter, have been ordered, it is still unclear who will maintain them.

The trial buoys that were put in place last year by the Department of the Environment and the Port Authority were successful in managing the boat and people traffic at the popular tourist destinations. However, since neither group was given responsibility for maintaining the system, when the buoys drifted, they were not retrieved.

Scott Slaybaugh from the Department of the Environment said: "We do the buoys for the marine park system and we were asked to assist last year (at Stingray City), which we were happy to do." 

However Mr Slaybaugh did not feel it was down to the DoE to act on this occasion. "The buoys were placed primarily as a safety device, and the DoE are concerned with natural resources of the site, such as the coral and the reef, so it is really out of our realm."

According to Captain Bryan Ebanks of Captain Bryan's Sail and Snorkel, something needed to be done and fast. "Technically the responsibility lies with the Port Authority," he said.

However, just prior to the announcement that the buoys had been ordered, when asked if he was responsible for maintaining the buoys at Stingray City and the Sandbar, Director of the Port Authority Paul Hurlston responded with, "yes and no". "It's a difficult one, it is not specifically under our regulation, but obviously we are concerned about the safety issues," he added.

Although the Port Authority worked with the Department of the Environment to install the buoys last year, Mr Hurlston did not feel that it was up to the Port Authority to act. "Stingray City is just a body of water. It is not owned by anyone, there are no regulations. It's not a port as such, so it's outside of port regulations, and until regulations are passed, we are not going to do anything."

Mr Hurlston also said, "I don't have the authority to do anything, if I did, then I would act, but as yet, I haven't been instructed to."

Some boaters remained skeptical when told that the buoys had been ordered. "I am on both watersports associations and I have not heard anything about this," said Captain Bryan, "For something to be done, it needs to come from the Ministry of Tourism, which as yet has not happened."

Captain Bryan echoes the strongest feeling that came from boat operators that we spoke to, saying that it is up to the Ministry of Tourism to delegate the job of managing the buoys to some entity. 

Cayman Net News attempted to contact the Ministry of Tourism to find out who was responsible for maintaining the sites, but did not receive a response back to the questions we put to them.

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