Cayman: “Sea” What’s Happening at CCMI!
From CCMI & Little Cayman Research Centre
INVESTING IN OCEAN STEWARDSHIP: 2026 AT CCMI
As we begin 2026, CCMI continues to champion the idea that knowledge is the foundation of stewardship.
Through our education programming, we empower people of all ages to understand, value, and actively care for marine environments.
When people connect with the science behind our oceans, they are better equipped to protect them, ensuring that today’s learning becomes tomorrow’s conservation action.
Through Reefs Go Live, exciting new citizen science opportunities, corporate marine sustainability retreats, and immersive residential programmes, such as the Caribbean Marine Ecology Camp, we are inspiring a new generation of ocean stewards from all sectors of society.
By combining research, hands-on learning, and community engagement, we are building the skills, awareness, and responsibility needed to safeguard marine ecosystems for the future.
It has been a great start to 2026, and we are excited to make this our most impactful year yet. You can support this next step by buying our ‘Gear Up for the Blue’ raffle tickets (see more below) or donating to CCMI’s amends on the new facility, helping us to create a world-class marine education and research space that will serve up to 800 students and researchers each year!
CONTENTS
In this newsletter, we cover:
- Reefs Go Live 2026
- Corporate Marine Sustainability Retreat
- Research and Conservation Update
- Education Update
- Upcoming Education Courses
- Citizen Science Opportunities
- CCMI’s Gear Up for the Blue Raffle
- CCMI Giving Corner – Give with confidence!
- CCMI Online Store
- Featured Partner: BDO
- CCMI Scientific Publications
REEFS GO LIVE IS BACK FOR 2026
Now it its ninth year, Reefs Go Live is returns for the 2026 season. A free, innovative virtual education initiative that connects classrooms and public audiences around the world directly with coral reefs in real time.
Through live-streamed lessons from the coral reefs of Little Cayman, the programme brings coral reefs to viewers around the world, helping learners understand the value of reefs, the threats they face, and the actions needed to protect them.
Join us this season at 10 am Cayman (UTC -5h) on:
Friday, 20th March: ‘Why is Everything so Colourful?’
Friday, 10th April: Superheroes of the Caribbean Reef
Friday, 8th May: From Ridge to Reef
Friday, 5th June (World Ocean Day): Coral Reefs and Us: Our Island Guardians
Registration for Reefs Go Live is free and is only required once to receive access to all episodes. Register HERE.
Reefs Go Live is made possible by the Edmund F. and Virginia B. Ball Foundation.
CORPORATE MARINE SUSTAINABILITY RETREAT
Get out of the boardroom – and into nature with CCMI’s Corporate Marine Sustainability programme!
This immersive four day residential programme equips corporations and their leaders with evidence-based understanding of why marine sustainability and coral reef resilience matters to business continuity and ESG performance.
Participants explore coral reef ecology, resilience science, climate impacts, and marine governance while gaining practical frameworks for corporate action that meets your company’s stated goals.
Contact CCMI for details and to book:
+1-345-948-1094
Leadership retreat meets ESG impact
- Up to 10 people*
- 4-days/3-nights
- Team building experiences
- Marine sustainability principles
- US $12,000
*We can host bigger groups and/or longer courses (additional cost) and tailor the experience to your needs. Subject to availability. Does not include flights.
RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION UPDATE
Coral Restoration
After the 2023 coral bleaching event, CCMI’s coral nursery suffered extreme mortality. Fortunately, it has now recovered to a point where we will be fragging the colonies in the nursery and beginning a depth-based outplanting experiment next month.
This outplanting experiment is an initial step toward evaluating the possibility of a deeper coral nursery that may stay cooler during the summer months and reduce the risk of coral bleaching and mortality within our restoration programme. The project will place coral fragments at strategic depths down to 30 m and evaluate their capacity to acclimate to deeper conditions.
This work is supported by the Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust, Marfire, and an Anonymous supporter.
Read more on CCMI’s Coral Restoration Programme
Blue Carbon Offset and Biodiversity
This year marks the culmination of three years of research investigating the capacity of corals and seagrasses to sequester carbon and determine the potential for using coral restoration near seagrass meadows to increase carbon sequestration and promote biodiversity.
Key results include uncovering that the amount of carbon stored in Little Cayman seagrass meadows, which was higher than the regional average and identifying that outplanting coral within and near seagrass meadows does increase the amount of sediment accumulated within the meadow and thus likely increases the amount of carbon sequestered by the seagrass.
What this means for the Cayman Islands is the carbon sequestration capacity is already above the regional average, thus, if combined with coral restoration, these habitats could be a significant player in climate mitigation.
This could also provide a blueprint for developing blue carbon offset programmes through restoration in small island states around the world. These results will be released publicly and through scientific publication throughout the next six months. Read more about the project on our website.
This project is made possible by the support of Butterfield.
Read more about CCMI’s other ongoing research projects including our 28-year coral reef monitoring programme Healthy Reefs in the research section of our website.
EDUCATION UPDATE
The start of the year has been a busy time for the education team at CCMI. We have welcomed two groups for our Marine Ecology Course from St Ignatius, as well as hosting university groups from Kean and Dartmouth college.
So far this year, 71 students joined our education programs, in addition to the 91 people who have joined our free weekly station tours.
When we weren’t running courses, the education team has been preparing and planning for a number of exciting opportunities coming up later in the year, including the Young Environmental Leadership Course (YELC) and the Caribbean Marine Ecology Camp (CMEC). We can’t wait to see what else this year will bring!
Partnership with Department of Environment’s Sharklogger Programme
CCMI has partnered with the Cayman Islands Department of Environment’s (DoE) Sharklogger Programme, a citizen science programme established in 2016 for divers and snorkellers to log shark sightings around the Cayman Islands and improve knowledge of local shark populations in the Cayman Islands. The project utilises standardised, effort-based protocols to monitor local shark populations, helping to map species distribution and abundance.
CCMI staff, as well as our education groups (ably trained and guided by CCMI staff) are reporting on DoE’s SharkLog after every dive, whether a shark was sighted or not, to account for effort. Alongside presence or absence of sharks, CCMI staff report the following information: date, location, time, depth, number of sharks seen, species, size, sex, whether a tag or markings were seen, and notes on behaviour.
This partnership is a great way for our education groups to become citizen scientists – students will observe and take notes, and input data on the sharklog, supervised by CCMI education staff. Learn more on the DoE website.
UPCOMING EDUCATION COURSES
Caribbean Marine Ecology Camp (CMEC)
Join CCMI for a week at the Little Cayman Research Centre! We will host our teen friends (ages 13-17) for this memorable camp experience. Choose your session:
- Camp 1: 18th – 24th July 2026
- Camp 2: 27th July – 2nd August 2026
This camp is a great experience for both divers and snorkellers. Book now as spaces fill quickly!
Cost: US $2,395*; excludes flight and DAN insurance for divers
If you have any questions about the camp or the scholarship application, please email us HERE.
*Full and partial scholarships available to Caymanian teens, provided by the Edmund F. and Virginia B. Ball Foundation.
Young Environmentalist Leadership Course (YELC)
Become a skilled, enthusiastic environmental ambassador under the guidance of the team at CCMI! Caymanians ages 16-20 can be one of 10 participants in this training experience where you:
- complete dive certifications through Rescue Diver
- attend a one-week intensive, hands-on experience at CCMI
- develop relevant knowledge and skills, including CV writing and interview
- make local contacts in the watersports, conservation, and science fields
YELC 2026 PROGRAMME DATES:
- Applications due: April 25
- Interviews: week of May 5
- Dive training: May 21-Aug 8
- Little Cayman: Aug 10-16
Questions? Email us today!
2026 CITIZEN SCIENCE OPPORTUNITIES
Field Research Skills in Coral Reef Management and Restoration
June 14 -20, 2026
Key skills taught in this course:
- 7-day/6-night at Little Cayman Research Station
- Lectures from CCMI’s scientists
- Up to 10 dives (including a night dive)
- Diving certifications earned in the course:
- PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy (PPB) Specialty
- PADI AWARE Specialty: Coral Reef Conservation
Participants pre-requisites:
- Experienced Open Water diver (minimum 12 dives)
- Minimum of 2 dives in the last 12 months.
Additional dive experience or certifications welcome but not required. A basic knowledge of marine ecology is expected.
Price: $2,400
