Cayman
streets get turtle friendly

Pilot project seeks to
install safer streetlights

26 February, 2019

The
Department of Environment (DoE), in partnership with the National
Roads Authority (NRA) and Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd. (CUC), is
pleased to announce that the Cayman Islands is taking its first steps
to make our public roads more “turtle-friendly”. 

The
DoE, using money from the Cayman Islands Environmental Protection
Fund, will purchase 40 new streetlights to be installed along roads
adjacent to important turtle nesting beaches. Similar turtle-friendly
lights have been used successfully in other jurisdictions to reduce
sea turtle hatchling mortality, while safely illuminating both
roadways and beachfront properties.

The
turtle-friendly street lights are part of a trial effort the partner
agencies are undertaking to lessen the rate of sea turtle
misorientations on Grand Cayman’s beaches.

“Roadway
and residential lighting that shines onto the beach discourages
female turtles from nesting and is a critical threat to hatchling sea
turtles,” said DoE Director Gina Ebanks-Petrie. “When they emerge
from their nests at night, hatchlings find the ocean by heading
toward the brightest light they can see. On an undeveloped beach,
this is the moon and stars reflecting off the ocean’s surface.
However, artificial lights can be much brighter and lead the baby
turtles toward land, where they face mortal danger from exhaustion,
dehydration, predators and vehicles.”

The
40 new turtle-friendly streetlights will replace those existing
streetlights that have caused the greatest number of turtle hatchling
misorientations over the past five years, based on data collected by
DoE.
One test light has already been installed and it is anticipated that
the remainder of the lights will be in place prior to the start of
the 2019 turtle nesting season, which begins in late April and
usually lasts until November.

The
new turtle-friendly streetlights are certified by the US Fish and
Wildlife Conservation Commission and use an amber wavelength that is
less likely to attract hatchling turtles away from the sea.

“CUC is
pleased to facilitate the Turtle Friendly Streetlight Pilot Project
between the National Roads Authority and the Department of
Environment,” CUC Manager of Environment, Health and Safety Joni
Kirkconnell said. “The installation of these specially designed
light fixtures offers a balance between environmental protection and
road safety. We think Cayman’s community will appreciate these
lights as much as we do.”  

“We
are very pleased that this trial is taking place,” said NRA Acting
Managing Director Edward Howard. “Replacement of the lights
specified in the trial will lead to an immediate increase in sea
turtle hatchling survival and will pave the way for turtle friendly
roadway lighting to be rolled out on a broader scale in the future.”

“We
are grateful to the DoE and its partners for bringing this initiative
forward,” noted Hon. Dwayne Seymour, Minister of Health,
Environment, Culture, and Housing.

A
number of jurisdictions in Florida have installed turtle-friendly
lighting along roads and outside beachfront condominiums and homes in
efforts to protect endangered sea turtle populations. 

Any
Cayman Islands properties wishing to install turtle friendly lights
may contact the Environmental Management Unit at DoE for further
information at the following email address: EMU.DoE@gov.ky.
For general information about Cayman’s sea turtles, turtle nesting
season, or how you can help protect our endangered turtle species,
please email the DoE at Doe@gov.ky
or contact us at 949-8469. -30-

Photos 1 & 2: CUC’s
Rasheed Suazo installs the first “turtle-friendly” streetlight
along West Bay Road on the south side of Cemetery Beach. Photo
Credit: CUC

Photo 3:
Hatchlings like these can be misoriented by bright street lights.
Photo Credit: Mark Orr, DoE