The arrival of sargassum seaweed on the coasts of Quintana Roo could reach 100,000 tons this year, surpassing the 90,000 tons of 2025. This affects the tourist area of Cancún, Tulum, and especially Playa del Carmen.
This year, the macroalgae appeared earlier and in greater quantities, so the Navy, in coordination with all levels of government, is reinforcing actions to reduce the economic and ecological impact.
Rear Admiral Topiltzin Flores Jaramillo, coordinator of the Sargassum Response Strategy of the Secretariat of the Navy (Semar), is leading the efforts against sargassum in Quintana Roo. He commented that this year 350 more personnel will be added to clean the beaches, and a large vessel will be adapted to collect sargassum at sea, joining the three ships already in operation.
Despite this, he acknowledges that winds and ocean currents complicate offshore collection and predicting where the sargassum will land. Therefore, at dawn, they monitor the situation and set up operations to remove the tons that continue to arrive.
“The strategy involves several stages: monitoring ocean collection, coastal collection by ship, coastal management by ship, and finally, based on last year’s experience, we had to implement emergency beach collection teams,” he explained.
The Navy commander explained that they have daily satellite monitoring, which allows them to estimate where the sargassum might wash ashore and be prepared for its collection, whether offshore or on the beach.
“We’re talking about the sargassum moving from the central Atlantic to the Caribbean Sea. From there, we, the Mexican Navy through the Oceanographic Institute, have developed the capacity to identify specific points where the sargassum blooms are coming in. We can now determine the quantity, the likely location, and the average time it will arrive. This helps us prepare a day in advance,” he added.
He commented that they currently have one ocean-going sargassum collection vessel, 12 smaller vessels, and three amphibious ships, but there are factors that sometimes complicate the operation.
“Currently, the resources we have for collection at sea are hampered in our ability to deploy our full operational force due to weather conditions; right now, we are about to experience a southerly wind (currents).”
Rear Admiral Toplizin elaborated that this year can no longer be called extraordinary in terms of the sargassum phenomenon, since last year gave us an example of what will become a reality, and all that remains is to prepare.
“Through monitoring and the available information from platforms in the United States, Florida universities, and even NASA, we saw that this was going to be an intense year, similar to last year, perhaps even more so… Last year, the collection of sargassum reached over 90,000 to 93,000 tons between the Mexican Navy, the state, and the municipality,” he warned.
One of the municipalities in Quintana Roo most affected is Playa del Carmen, as the arrival of this seaweed has caused critical erosion, with sand being lost each time it is removed.
“Beach erosion is an issue that has been around for more than a decade and was first observed during the monitoring of rising tides… We are losing that sand because, when you dredge or use heavy machinery to remove all the sargassum that washes out, it also removes sand that cannot be recovered… I estimate that we are losing between 50 and 70 meters of beach per year; it depends on the area,” commented José Luis Toledo, councilman of Playa del Carmen.
At El Recodo beach, one of the most well-known and located between the two main piers of this tourist-dependent municipality, up to 150 meters of beach have been lost, impacting the ecosystem and the work of other sectors such as fishing.
“In this area, people can no longer walk, you can see it, it’s completely collapsed. Added to this is coastal erosion and the presence of decomposing sargassum, which is now nonexistent… the whole city is collapsing. Imagine the people who stop coming to the city, the restaurants, the coastal economy, the boats that would be working, the fishing too—there’s a decrease in all production and consumption,” stated José Gómez, president of the Caribbean Sea Tourism Cooperative.
And although this problem has existed for many years, in 2011 it began to escalate into a problem that now affects not only tourism and the local economy, but also the environment and the marine ecosystem. Many affected feel there is a lack of will to propose real solutions.
“There is a lot of corruption—the exact word is corruption—and a lack of transparency. The federal maritime zone in the country is regulated by law, and those who use and enjoy the federal zone pay the municipal, state, and federal governments. Hotels include beach cleaning in their daily operations; however, it is the responsibility of the federal government, of course, and for good reason, they aren’t doing it well,” stated José Luis Toledo, councilman of Playa del Carmen.
He even asserts that there are international examples where they have managed to stop the sargassum infestation.
For now, this year the impact is already beginning to affect the economy due to losses for many businesses, and merchants fear it could worsen.
Source: milenio
