Facing its worst sargassum season on record, Mexico’s federal government unveiled a new strategy July 30 to intercept the seaweed before it reaches Quintana Roo’s beaches, backed by MX$2.64 billion — roughly US$150 million — in new spending. President Claudia Sheinbaum announced the plan during her morning press conference at Palacio Nacional, flanked by Navy…
Record amounts of ugly, unsightly sargassum seaweed are washing ashore across the Caribbean, hitting 37.5 million metric tons (41.3 million short tons) in May 2025. The thick brown algae mats are overwhelming beaches from Puerto Rico to Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, threatening the tourist economy and public health. Along the Mexican Caribbean coast in Quintana Roo…
It is not exactly clear how the dolphins got sick in the first place, but given the increase in the number of diseased dolphins found on Yucatán’s shore over the past few years, experts are beginning to sound the alarm.
Historic levels of sargassum along the Mexican Caribbean coast during Holy Week have triggered an “unusual abundance” of tourists at Yucatán’s famous cenotes. “There were more people here in the area, throughout the cenote park, and in all other places,” a Maya priest named Freddy Orlando Coto told the EFE news agency. Orlando Coto, a…
Closed beaches and the threat of a red tide in Progreso, but not ot all is at is seems.
The presence of seaweed in the Caribbean is nothing new, but has increased dramatically over the past few years.
Omar Vázquez is turning this aquatic nuisance into construction material to help build affordable housing.
Photos of Quintana Roo’s coastline covered in sargassum for weeks have been circulating heavily over news sites and social media. And scientists now warn that some types of sargassum could be detrimental to human health. “We have detected four species of algae which could potentially be detrimental to human health. The main risk comes from…
Record-breaking amounts of sargassum could soon reach the Peninsula, scientists said at a Mérida conference.
The sargassum on the coast and the Sahara dust in the sky might have a connection. The stinky seaweed first sprouted in 2011 in the tropical Atlantic and has been plaguing beaches ever since. Sewage and farmland runoff have been blamed. But there’s another possible culprit — Africa’s Sahara dust, which blows over the ocean and…
The most affected areas include beaches on the state’s southern coast, but large patches of seaweed have extended all the way north to the tourist mecca of Cancun.
Mexico’s navy has removed over 10,000 tons of sargassum from the coastline of Quintana Roo. The unsightly seaweed was cleared from beaches in seven municipalities across the state.
Reaserchers point to pollution from rivers in South America and the United States as the likely cause of rapid sargassum growth. The sargasso sea was first observed by Christopher Columbus in 1492. However, since that time, that relatively small patch of seaweed has been transformed into a floating island of biomass spanning over 5,600 miles….
Beachgoers in Quintana Roo have begun to notice the return of sargassum. The floating, brown seaweed has been spotted on several beaches including Tulum and Playa del Carmen. Tourism authorities in Quintana Roo said they expect only a moderate uptick in sargassum but have already begun to prepare cleanup crews. “The amount of sargassum is…
The Yucatan Peninsula and other Caribbean coastal towns are bracing for what has become an annual crisis — sargassum tides consisting of a floating, brown macroalgae. This year, though, less of the stinky seaweed is expected. That’s a relief, since 2019 was a record-high year for the stinky seaweed. The University of South Florida Outlook…
The relative chill that has affected Yucatan since Wednesday has affected tourist-centered businesseses on the coast. The storm surge has also piled sargassum — the stinky algae that has plagued beaches — onto Progreso’s shores once again. Cold Front 23, as it is called by local weather authorities, coincided with the arrival of the cruise…
Progreso, Yucatan — City crews brought heavy machinery to address tons of sargassum that invaded the beach over the weekend. About 50 workers attempted to prevent the algae from spreading to the entire coastal strip, according to Diario de Yucatan. On Saturday, the Malecon beach woke up with little sargassum. But by Sunday or Monday, the sea…
Twelve Caribbean nations whose beaches have been invaded by tons of sargassum have agreed to seek international economic support to fight a problem affecting 19 nations. The meeting, held in Quintana Roo, gathered ministers of environment and tourism of 12 countries. It was coordinated by the state’s governor, Carlos Joaquin Gonzalez. One response is to…
Cancun, Q. Roo — Sargassum, long choking the Yucatan Peninsula’s Caribbean coast, is a “minor issue,” President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told reporters Monday. The smelly, seaweed-like muck has bedeviled the tourism industry in recent years, as disappointed tourists are deprived of the beautiful beaches they were promised. Tourism is key to the Mexican economy….
A tide of sargassum is expected to foul 120 kilometers of beach from Dzilam Bravo to Sisal on Yucatan’s Gulf Coast today.
That’s all for now
That’s all for now