The main story in the 10 July 1975 edition of The Caymanian Compass was about New York no longer allowing Mariculture Ltd, the precursor to the Cayman Turtle Centre, to export turtle meat to that state. The article notes that while New York only represented about 6% of Mariculture’s market, the ruling was still disappointing, and it was hoped that pressure could be exerted to amend the state’s regulations to permit the import of farmed turtle products, adding, “This is not the first time Mariculture, the world’s largest turtle farm, has come up against the conservation backlash in the States.”
Also on page 1 was a photo of smiling schoolgirls, headlined, ‘Why are these girls so happy?’ It turns out the young students of Savannah Primary School (now Joanna Clarke Primary) were heading into the summer holiday after the last day of school.
Another front-page story, ‘Man fined $350 for taking sand’, pointed to “legal history” being made when a man was successfully prosecuted “for the illegal removal of beach-area sand”. This marked the first case brought under the amended Development and Planning Law 1971. He pleaded not guilty to a charge of removing sand from Barkers without Central Planning Authority permission. The magistrate said he was convinced the man and not the police was lying in their testimony about what occurred and fined him $350, saying, “I consider this case to be a flagrant one.”
Page 3 contained an article that could be filed under ‘Just when you thought you had heard everything’. A man was clocked driving 75 miles per hour in George Town as he was being chased by police. According to the report, the driver told the Stipendiary Magistrate’s Court he was speeding “to see how well the police could drive”. The result? After eventually pleading guilty to both counts, he was fined a total of $225 for dangerous driving in South Church Street and for speeding. He was also disqualified from driving for one year.
