The City Council began the placement of a marine barrier of up to five linear kilometers to contain the sargassum landfall, which represents one of the most extensive containment actions implemented in recent years.
The installation began in the section between Fundadores Park and the Constituyentes pier, extending towards Playa Golondrinas, with 69 modules of 15 meters each, which is equivalent to just over a kilometer already placed.
This was reported by Kandy Mendoza, Secretary of Sustainable Environment and Climate Change, during a press conference held this morning, in which she stressed that the goal is to cover the entire public coastal strip, from Playa Cisne to Playa Esmeralda.
According to Kandy Mendoza, during 2025, 30,580 tons of sargassum were collected, the highest figure recorded in the last four years.
He explained that so far in 2026, before the beginning of March – the month in which the most intense arrival traditionally begins – one thousand 288 tons have already been removed.
The official reported that an investment of close to 45 million pesos from the Environmental Sanitation Fund was approved, with the participation of businessmen and hoteliers, to strengthen the containment and cleaning strategy.
He indicated that 15 active collection points are currently operating, with approximately 150 workers on the beach and the support of 70 elements of the Secretariat of the Navy, in addition to specialized machinery for the removal of the algae.
At the same time, he announced the rehabilitation of the final disposal site through the installation of 10 thousand square meters of geomembrane and geotextile, with the aim of avoiding leaks and guaranteeing a more controlled environmental management of the collected material.
He noted that the sargassum phenomenon has intensified in the Caribbean in the last decade.
He mentioned that oceanographic research indicates that the increase is related to changes in marine currents, water temperature, and nutrient discharges in the Atlantic, which have caused massive arrivals in different parts of the coast of Quintana Roo.
Although marine barriers do not totally prevent resurfacing, the official stressed that they allow the volume that reaches the sand directly to be reduced, facilitating its removal before it decomposes and generates environmental, health, and tourist effects.
The municipal authority recognized that sargassum is a phenomenon that will continue to occur, so the strategy seeks to anticipate the arrival and reduce its impact on economic activity and the image of the destination. (SIM Agency)
Source: Noticaribe
