Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Residents are being asked to report marine incidents that require an immediate response – such as suspected illegal fishing, poaching or marine pollution directly to 911.

This is now possible because the Department of Environment’s Marine Enforcement Unit has upgraded its communications system, allowing direct contact with 911 via the staff’s personal radios.

Besides helping to improve the response to the public, the upgrade also enables marine enforcement officers to directly contact other government agencies, including the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service, Customs, Port Authority and Fire Service.

In addition, the new system improves incident management and recording.

Marine Enforcement calls to 911 will be handled by 911 officers, who will record the entire incident’s details and directly contact marine enforcement officers, said Marine Enforcement Officer Andy Hope.

Mr. Hope, who played an integral role in instituting this new system, said the department is now better placed to protect the environment.

“Integrating our system with 911 gives the public 24/7 contact to the unit. We anticipate that this will enable us to better manage our response and in turn, more effectively protect the natural marine environment.”

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