The Central Caribbean Marine Institute is a small but active reef-research station on the north shore of Little Cayman, near Jackson's Bight. It was founded in 2002 to study coral resilience, climate impacts, and reef recovery; the location is ideal because the surrounding marine park is one of the healthiest reef ecosystems in the Caribbean.
The institute runs visitor tours by appointment — a chance to see the wet lab, coral nursery, and the work on lionfish control. Researchers will happily explain what they are doing if you ask. There are also occasional public talks during winter season, advertised on the lodge noticeboards. Worth an hour for anyone interested in marine biology; not a substitute for actually diving the wall.