Tourists hate sargassum. It’s a brown, ugly macroalgae that washes up on the shores of the Mexican Caribbean. Left too long in the sun and it starts to emit quite the funky odor.
On the east side of the Mexican Caribbean, the beach authorities spend millions to block the sargassum coming to the shores of Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Isla Mujeres. They have even deployed the Mexican Navy to help with the enforcement.
Once a fraction of the total amount washes up on the shores, even more is spent by local authorities, resorts and hotels to ensure their beaches are spotlessly clean for vacation getaway travelers.
Sargassum is public enemy number one obstructing the right of travelers to enjoy their days on the sun, sand and surf of the Mexican Caribbean tourist hotspots.
However, the popular laid-back and rustic beach island destination of Holbox takes a different approach to the issue of sargassum on the shores. Instead of immediately cleaning it up, they have a more natural style of handling the issue.
Sargassum For Sustainability
As beaches across the Mexican Caribbean struggle to remove sargassum and keep erosion from happening at the same time, the hotels in Holbox have realized that leaving the sargassum on the beaches actually helps create better beaches for tourists.
“Many people think that they are just weeds or that they are plants with thorns, but in reality, they create dunes that prevent erosion,” said Holbox Ecology Inspector Manuel Rico Santana in a report about the issue. “It also plays an important role during meteorological phenomena by serving as a natural barrier.”
Removing the brown macroalgae for more attractive beaches for visitors to enjoy the sun, sand and surf of the Mexican Caribbean actually leads to more erosion and the disappearing beaches currently happening in the region.
Low Sargassum Season
Normally, the large concentrations of sargassum on the shores of the Mexican Caribbean leads to efforts to control and clean up the mess because it overwhelms the shores, especially on Holbox.
This year has been a little different.
Predictions from sargassum monitoring officials have declared that the sargassum season impact in the Mexican Caribbean will be less than normal as the bulk of the sargassum concentration in the Caribbean heads to Florida instead.
In fact, the current prediction is that the Mexican Caribbean could actually be free of sargassum from July to September of this year.
Because of this, local hotels are more willing to give Rico Santana’s recommendation a try.
They are concerned about the potential impact of the unusually strong tropical storm and hurricane season predicted for this year and are using the sargassum and coat and protect the beautiful beaches of Holbox that travelers love from eroding into the sea.
What Tourists Need to Know
It may be a little smelly with the sargassum on the shores of Holbox, a popular rustic tourist island in the Mexican Caribbean.
However, leaving the macroalgae on the shores a little bit longer will actually preserve the beautiful white sand beaches of the area from washing into the sea.
It also contributes to the rustic feel that travelers love most about Holbox as well as an important connection to sustainability, which is one of the major reasons why travelers choose to travel to the Mexican Caribbean for their sun, sand and surf vacation getaway.