CAYMAN ISLANDS (27 Apr 2009) — Police in the Cayman Islands have identified the American tourist who died while scuba diving with Divers Down. The Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) named the scuba diving accident victim as Brendan Joseph Neilson, 58, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, who was visiting the Caymans with his fiancee. Divers Down has declined to comment on the diver's death, and why the company failed to notify authorities of a missing diver emergency until after the crew of a sport fishing boat called 911 to report they had found Neilson floating unconscious in the sea off Dolphin Pointe, West Bay. The fishing boat crew pulled the victim aboard and attempted to revive him with CPR and they sped towards shore. Police and paramedics took over when the boat reached shore but Neilson never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead after his body was taken to a local hospital. Police are investigating the fatal scuba diving accident and a post-mortem examination will be conducted to determine the cause of death. Neilson was the third tourist to die while diving in the Caymans in 2009. There were nine diving-related deaths in the Cayman Islands in 2008. Unsustainable tourism Once considered the best scuba diving holiday destination in the Caribbean, the Cayman Islands have steadily declined in popularity over the past decade due to overpricing, overdevelopment, eco-unfriendly cruise ship tourism, marine wildlife harassment (Stingray City), coral reef degradation and increasing concerns that diving-related fatalities are linked to the failure of dive boat operators to comply with commonly accepted dive safety procedures. Hoping to lure divers back to the Caymans, local tourism promoters announced last October that the government would adopt Florida's scheme to replace dying coral reefs with value-added scuba diving product comprised of scuttled U.S. Navy warships. Promoters said they hope to sink the 77-meter, 2,290 tonne USS Kittiwake later this year. | 
