Cancún celebrates sargassum-free beaches, as satellites show seaweed gathering off the coast

With sargassum play officially underway, authorities on Mexico’s Riviera Maya are bracing for a record-breaking influx of the messy seaweed this summer.

Sargassum blooms person been coming ashore earlier than mean this year, and Esteban Amaro, manager of the Quintana Roo Sargassum Monitoring System, said the forecast for 2025 is worrisome.

Relatively small sargassum has washed ashore connected Riviera Maya beaches this week. (Elisabeth Ruíz/Cuartoscuro)

“We are expecting much aggravated and much predominant arrivals on the full coast,” helium said.

Amaro said outer images bespeak the accumulation of sargassum this summertime volition beryllium greater than the portion has seen successful 3 years.

“Last year, we collected much than 40,000 metric tons, and we volition easy surpass that fig this year,” helium said.

The brownish seaweed known arsenic sargassum is people beneficial to marine ecosystems successful the unfastened ocean, but becomes harmful to marine life, plants, coral and quality wellness erstwhile ample quantities scope the coast. As it decomposes, sargassum gives disconnected a foul odor akin to rotten eggs.

Sargassum accumulation on the Riviera Maya typically peaks during the summertime months from April oregon May to August, but tin persist into November. Last year, Quintana Roo did not state sargassum play implicit until Nov. 14.

Increasing quantities of the seaweed person been washing ashore since 2011, posing a situation to authorities arsenic they enactment to support the beaches cleanable and harmless for tourism, a superior root of income successful the region.

In precocious March, officials on Mexico’s Caribbean seashore reported an summation successful sargassum compared to past year. 

The fashionable tourer destination of Tulum collected 50% much seaweed successful January and February compared to the aforesaid play past year, according to the Federal Maritime Terrestrial Zone (Zofemat).

Though immoderate beaches connected the northbound extremity of Cozumel Island registered “abundant” sargassum astatine the extremity of April, seaweed accumulation was debased for astir of the coast. (Red de Monitoreo del Sargazo de Quintana Roo/Facebook)

The state’s Ecology and Environment Ministry said that, arsenic of mid-April, a full of 10,236 metric tons of sargassum had been collected successful the coastal areas of Playa del Carmen, Othón P. Blanco and Puerto Morelos.

Quintana Roo Gov. Mara Lezama recognized the authoritative commencement of sargassum season connected April 15, outlining her administration’s containment plans and saying that keeping beaches cleanable is simply a shared responsibility.

The archetypal phase, oregon containment phase, saw astir 9,500 meters of barriers installed disconnected the state’s coasts astatine strategical locations to incorporate the algae and redirect it to postulation points 

Amaro said that portion the barriers are a captious portion of protecting Mexico’s beaches, the anticipation that climatic conditions punctual a monolithic influx of sargassum blooms requires authorities to redouble their efforts.

The Navy Ministry besides implemented a monitoring signifier designed to find floating masses of sargassum that could interaction beaches, assigning 11 coastal sargassum harvesting vessels and 22 smaller vessels to the task. 

With reports from 24 horas de Quintana Roo and Riviera Maya News