Understanding the ongoing environmental and economic catastrophe generated by the proliferation of sargassum, the Dominican Republic has taken decisive action to turn this crisis into an opportunity for sustainable development. According to the Association of Hotels and Tourism of the Dominican Republic (Asonahores), each property is being forced to spend up to $70,000 annually on …
Maria Valencia
Barbados is a small Caribbean island with a population of about 300,000. However, it’s been tasked with a monumental problem to try to tackle. With tourism a main driver of the nation’s economy, the island nation has struggled with an influx of Sargassum, a brown macroalgae, which washes up on the Barbados coastline. Within days …
Mexican private and public sectors have announced a groundbreaking partnership to fight sargassum and boost business opportunities in the Caribbean region. According to Toni Chaves, hotel leader in Quintana Roo, the Mexican Institute for Research in Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture (IMIPAS), the Association of Hotels of Riviera Maya (AHRM) and the Seas We Love (TSWL) …
Powered by the Visa Foundation, the NGO Mayma Mexico developed the project “Regenerating Blue Communities: Promoting Business Solutions Beyond Sustainability in the Coastal Socio-ecosystem of Quintana Roo” to identify business opportunities arising from sargassum use. Between Nov. 2023 and Jun. 2024, the organization found 85 projects working on initiatives to capitalize on the seaweed washing …
Following the Riviera Maya Hotel Association’s intention to disengage from the financial burden of cleaning up sargassum, a total of eight municipalities in the Mexican Caribbean have pledged to its effective removal and disposal until December 15, 2024. Municipalities committed to cleaning up to 100 popular beaches include Cozumel, Solidaridad, Isla Mujeres, Benito Juárez, Tulum, …
Mexico has been dealing with sargassum inundation events for almost a decade. This season, famous beaches across Quintana Roo have been covered by algae due to a combination of environmental factors. But that’s about to stop, authorities have announced. According to Jesús Amaro, a hydrobiologist who chairs the Environmental Monitoring and Climate Change Network of …
Beryl made landfall as a category-two hurricane on Friday in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula after passing through some Caribbean countries, leaving death and destruction in its wake. Although the hurricane brought heavy rains and strong winds to Cancun and Tulum, no important damages were reported. Only fallen palm trees and a flood in the hotel zone. …
Despite significant sargassum landfalls observed over the last few weeks, the Mexican Caribbean will be algae-free in a couple of weeks, say authorities. As of today, concentrations of macroalgae on beaches are very low and no more are coming, according to experts. The remaining algae will finish arriving during the first week of July. Satellite …
Sargassum season in the Dominican Republic has not been as shocking this year as it has been in other Caribbean destinations, such as some parts of Mexico. However, the D.R. forecast is about to change, according to the latest satellite images revealed by South Florida University’s Optical Oceanography Laboratory. This institution gathers scientists and engineers …
Isla Mujeres recorded the first massive arrival of sargassum this season, with more than 150 metric tons. Although Quinta Roo has received hundreds of tons this year, Isla Mujeres hasn’t been too affected by the phenomenon and it’s usually listed as one of the few beach destinations without sargassum near Cancun. The Wednesday “inundation event” …