"They're essentially being smothered out," Krimsky said. /* Add your own Mailchimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. SLS Baha Mar - need help deciding (option 2 is the Reef). Barbados has been especially hit hard since flying fish make up 60% of the island's annual landed catch, according to the University of the West Indies. Finding the appropriate balance between cleaning up South Beach and protecting Fort Zach is imperative if and when the project goes forward. USF / NASA Alert: Second consecutive monthly doubling of Sargassum ! hide caption. The oceans chemistry must have changed in order for the blooms to get so out of hand, said co-author Chuanmin Hu, a USF oceanographer, in a news release. Several product suites have been created as a . document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); #mc_embed_signup{background:#000000; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; width:100%;} Plastic gets caught up in it and it finds its way under your bathing suit where the sun doesn't shine, and it smells awful. Outlook of 2022 Sargassum blooms in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico* December 31, 2022, by University of South Florida Optical Oceanography Lab (bbarnes4@usf.edu, yuyuan@usf.edu, huc@usf.edu) The maps below show Sargassum abundance, with warm colors representing higher values. Punta Cana SEAWEED Problem (2022): Everything You Need To Know!! If you want a happy-face spin on the state of Key West sargassum 2022, you best look elsewhere because wait for it Mary, Joseph and the Wee Donkey, that black, decaying algae is piled up past my thighs, the off-beach waters are a gooey chocolate sludge and the smell, which can darn near knock you down at first whiff, permeates the island 10 blocks in from the shoreline. The concentration of algae is so heavy in some parts of the eastern Caribbean that the French island of Guadeloupe issued a health alert in late July. Sargassum is a genus of large brown seaweed (a type of algae) that floats in island-like masses, never attaching to the seafloor. Heres what we found: Look, sargassum in the summer is normal, as any long-timer will tell you. The normally translucent waters around Pinel Island turned into a prickly brown slush. The plant I was likely swimming frantically away from was a large brown alga called Sargassum. Posted Wed 3 Aug 2022 at 4:51pm Wednesday 3 Aug 2022 at 4:51pm Wed 3 Aug 2022 at 4:51pm, . ), 23 Best Places To Visit In April 2023 In The U.S. (TOP PICKS! Locals already know to forego our beaches most summer days. USF-NASA : 2023 major blooms of sargassum ? When the seaweed decompose on the shore, they consume large amounts of oxygen, causing anoxia and emitting toxic gases like hydrogen sulfide and methane, which are very dangerous for humans and can cause the mass death of many species. Sargasses: 4 plages de Guadeloupe impactes avec de taux de toxicit levs, 25/02/2023 NASA-USF & SIMAR-SATsum-Conabio Sargassum Seaweed Bulletin. It also has activists concerned about the plight of endangered turtles, with some dying at sea entangled in seaweed or unable to lay their eggs given the mat of algae covering the sand. This is the version of our website addressed to speakers of English in the United States. Of course, there's seaweed on every beach in the world, but it is rare for us to get more than a little - except after a major storm. No, such is the nature of climate change. Out in the open waterwhere the seaweed drifts freely across a region of the Atlantic called the Sargasso Seasargassum is a happy home for several creatures, including species of eels, shrimp, crabs, and Histrio histrio, also known as the sargassum fish. We are well past the who or what is to blame stage. My husband and I had planned a trip to the Caribbean for our 15th anniversary last year but obviously had to cancel it. they are up-dated 7/7, 365 days/year. Re: Sargassum 1 year ago Save Take a look at this web site. We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. FRANCE : Le ministre dlgu au Outre-mer Jean-Franois Carenco a annonc la cration, au 15 octobre 2022, de quatre structures pour grer le sujet sargasse aux Antilles. Some ecological good news, courtesy of some hungry shelled swimmers. Members who are knowledgeable about this destination and volunteer their time to answer travelers' questions. Sargassum in moderation helps purify water, absorb carbon dioxide and is a key habitat for fish . 2019: OMG! These biopolymers, whose antitumor and immunomodulatory properties are currently being researched, could even be used as cancer therapies, according to some studies. Communiqu de Presse tlchargeable (format PDF) en Franais. Linda Grist Cunningham is editor and proprietor of Key West Island News and KeyWestWatch Media LLC. Hes also heard of beaches in Key West stained a muddy brown. But that Im here now, so pull up the drawbridge culture is as unproductive as is the sargassum happens every summer crowd. Welcome to Sargasso Tracker. The Navy operates 11 seaweed collection vessels in the area, but records show that the amount gathered at sea is decreasing year after year. Dominican Republic : Punta Cana SEAWEED Problem (2022): Everything You Need To Know!! The project would divert sargassum back into the channel and minimize the sargassum beachings. Mexican Caribbean has seen an increase in Sargassum seaweed in the past few days. But, argue many locals, this happens every year and who cares if visitors stop coming because the beaches are nasty? ta.queueForLoad : function(f, g){document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', f);})(function(){ta.trackEventOnPage('postLinkInline', 'impression', 'postLinks-110830177', '');}, 'log_autolink_impression');Bahamas getting hit hard with Sargassum? 2021: Everything you need to know about Key West sargassum, 2022: Key West sargassum 2022: One of these days itll kill our summer beach time, Key West local | Are you one? The Key West Planning Board at its 5 p.m., Aug. 18, meeting at City Hall will consider a proposal from Sunset City, LLC (the LaSalle Hotel Operating Partnership located in Bethesda, MD) and the Matilde Generosa Ramos Rev. July saw no decrease of algae in the Caribbean Sea, said Chuanmin Hu, an optical oceanography professor who helps produce the reports. This summer's influx of sargassum, which has threatened water and energy production on St. Croix, has provoked the government to consider how it can best protect the people who have to deal with its clean-up and disposal. She said large masses of seaweed have a severe environmental impact, with decaying algae altering water temperatures and the pH balance as well as leading to declines in seagrass, coral reef and sponge populations. AP Near-record amounts of seaweed are smothering Caribbean coasts from Puerto. Latest Covid Policy Aug 30, 2022. So far, 9,565 tons have arrived on Mexican beaches. We have had several trips to the Mahahual-Punta Herrero area in Mexico absolutely ruined by it. Share with us your recent photos and videos. Whether you call them gaps, rings, or fairy circles, these unexpected formations in seagrass beds are keeping scientists guessing. "I was scared," he recalled feeling when he saw the historic number for June. Key West Island News connects Key West residents and friends of the island, fosters our One Human Family culture and advances understanding of shared goals for our island community. She'll keep doing it for free until she gets bored. Brash, bold, and bigoted, he made for an uneasy national mascot. "This is the worst we've ever seen it for sure," said Melody Rouveure, general manager for a tour company in the Dutch Caribbean territory of St. Maarten, which shares an island with St. Martin. We need sargassum. Therefore, the best time to visit is January and February. If you can't be bothered even to check the website a few times a week, subscribe to our newsletter. The phenomenon has broken records this year and has become one of the great environmental concerns of the coastal areas of the region. SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico A record amount of seaweed is smothering Caribbean coasts from Puerto Rico to Barbados as tons of brown algae kill wildlife, choke the tourism industry and release toxic gases. Members who are knowledgeable about this destination and volunteer their time to answer travelers' questions. Find beaches without seaweed in the Riviera Maya, Mexico. Required fields are marked *. Atypical northern winds in December 2022 deposited some sargassum on Grace Bay Beach, yet these accumulations have largely dissipated. She hates to write, but does it anyway. You quickly make your own opinion about the real situation. Jonathan Alpeyrie (Bloomberg) The first report of the appearance of sargassum came from local fishermen and a newspaper in 2011, according to Chuanmin Hu, an oceanographer with the University of South Florida team, which began tracking its growth in the Gulf of Mexico in 2006. Its too early to predict sargassum beachings in September. Every seaside beach in the Caribbean, western Mexico and into the Gulf of Mexico is swearing at this new sargassum and helpless to do much about it. A record amount of seaweed is smothering Caribbean coasts from Puerto Rico to Barbados. We'll send you an occasional update on the best from KWIN and our contributors, let you know when we add new features and content -- and we don't share your contact info. I did, too, before our trip last April. 11 Most Dangerous Cities in Mexico in 2023, According to Data, 4 Visas For Digital Nomads That Can Convert Into Permanent Residency, 6 TOP Luxury Destinations Of 2023 Revealed, New Data Reveals Europes TOP 5 Cities For Digital Nomads, 10 Best Inexpensive U.S. "We're consuming as much as we can produce right now," said Daryl Jaschen, director of the islands' emergency management agency. Travel Advisory 2023, Is La Paz, Mexico Safe? One of these days, our visitors will, too. Bryan said he is now trying to find local funds to clean beaches, "but a lot of things need money right now.". It damages boat engines and fishing gear, prevents fishermen from reaching their boats and fishing areas and leads to a drop in the number of fish caught. We cannot pretend it isnt happening. We are well past not my problem. Sargassum has the potential to destroy our ecosystems and damage our most important revenue stream. During June 26-29, 2022, the representatives of CRFM and PFR visited two (2) private sector companies, one which makes liquid fertiliser and soil enhancer from Sargassum, and the other which manufactures construction supplies from Sargassum. Save. Masses of sargassum also have strangled the Caribbean's fishing industry. Cette dcision concerne Saint-Barthlmy, Saint-Martin, la Guadeloupe et la Martinique. Communiqu de Presse tlchargeable (format PDF) en Franais. Punta Cana SEAWEED Problem (2022): Everything You Need To Know!! By 2018, the volume was concerning, and then it decreased. An overabundance of sargassum was blamed for the recent deaths of thousands of fish at the French Caribbean island of Martinique. MTO FRANCE : 30/01/2023 Prvision dchouements dalgues sargasses, 28/01/2023 Sargassum seaweed Satellite views, MTO FRANCE : 26/01/2023 Prvision dchouements dalgues sargasses, Mexico : 2023 un ao con mucho sargazo para el Caribe Mexicano, MTO FRANCE : 23/01/2023 Bulletin de prvision dchouements de sargasses plagiques, 21/01/2023 Sargassum seaweed Satellite views, Mexico : Sol, mary sargazo: cmo la energa puede rescatar al paraso mexicano, MTO FRANCE Antilles Francaises : 16/01/2023 Bulletin de prvision dchouements de sargasses plagiques, 14/01/2023 Sargassum seaweed Satellite views, ANTILLES FRANCAISES : 09/01/2023 BULLETIN DE PREVISION DECHOUEMENT DES SARGASSES PELAGIQUES, Mexico & Florida: Growth rates of pelagic Sargassum species in the Mexican Caribbean, 06/01/2023 Sargassum seaweed Satellite views, ANTILLES FRANCAISES : 02/01/2023 BULLETIN DE PREVISION DECHOUEMENT DES SARGASSES PELAGIQUES, 01/01/2023 Sargassum seaweed Satellite views. Authorities have collected 9,467 on the coast and 97.7 in the sea. This topic has been closed to new posts due to inactivity. * Do not embed this map in a website or a blog without permission from Sargassum Monitoring. By analyzing satellite images collected over the past 19 years across the region theyve dubbed the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt, researchers led by the University of South Floridas Mengqiu Wang have untangled some of the factors that contribute to the bloomsand predicted that shorelines will continue to be choked with seaweed. So, no, there isn't a Sargassum problem in the Bahamas. ta.queueForLoad : function(f, g){document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', f);})(function(){ta.trackEventOnPage('postLinkInline', 'impression', 'postLinks-110849776', '');}, 'log_autolink_impression');Bahamas before (Cat) but the Sargassum is particularly bad this year and we needed to check, too, just for our peace of mind! In the Cayman Islands, a thick carpet of sargassum had prompted officials to launch a trial program in which crews pumped more than 2,880 square feet (268 square meters) of seaweed out of the water. I was wondering if it is typically not as bad in the (ta && ta.queueForLoad ? Speaking to The Economist in 2015 about the smelly summits, Hilary Beckles, vice chancellor of the University of the West Indies, called sargassum the greatest single threat to the Caribbean economy I can imagine.. In 2022, Mexican federal officials expected the arrival of 32 thousand tons of sargassum seaweed in the country. But when thick mats wash ashore, things get foul. I will be visiting the Marathon area. But large arrivals of sargassum have also reached the north coast of Brazil and even Florida, says Rodrguez. Your email address will not be published. I was in Cancun a few days ago and it was just starting to get some. Sargassum has a lot of arsenic, but also cadmium, lead and other heavy metals, as well as dangerous bacteria that pollute the environment, she warns. August 15, 2022. Since 2011, large amounts of sargassum have invaded the Caribbean every year except 2013 an anomaly that scientists believe may have resulted from a lack of nutrients and a change in wind strength and direction. In 2022, Mexican federal officials expected the arrival of 32 thousand tons of sargassum seaweed in the country. Around the world, sand and waves reveal and conceal all manner of findsthe stumps of ancient forests; bottles stuffed with messages; shells, large and small; the occasional lump of sea pork. The Keys struggle under the load of hundreds of thousands of visitors, vehicles and vacations. June 17, 2022. No purchase necessary. Indeed. Some Key West folks seem to get a certain pleasure in cheering any reduction in visitors. From an ROI standpoint, it is important to weigh this impact against the estimated cost of mitigation, which we estimate to be between $3.4 million and $17.8 million. The excess of nitrogen and phosphorus derived from the putrefaction process serves as fertilizer for them to grow more, generating leachates, sulfidic acid and arsenic, which are responsible for the fetid and rotten smell that has now become common in some Caribbean tourist destinations. Its well past the worst season and Im on the Mexican Gulf coast at the moment. Every beach in the world will have seaweed, but the Bahamas does not have the same problem as many places that are swamped in deep seaweed piles on beaches and in the sea. "It is absolutely devastating for the region.". For the past decade, Vince Ramgeet and his two Public Works Department field officers have been locked in a constant struggle to clear Grand Cayman's public boat ramps and their . Mexico : Norma Muoz: La gente no est informada de los efectos del sargazo, dice que las afectaciones las mand Dios, Mexico : EL SARGAZO NO SE CONVIERTE EN ARENA, France : Bilan du BRGM : les taux mesurs en arsenic et en chlorure de sodium dpassent les normes imposes, Sargassum is worsening the conditions of the poorest people in Ghana, Un mystre aux proportions ocaniques : des algues sargasses forment dsormais un pont vgtal entre lAmrique et lAfrique, Republica Dominicana : Sargazo llega hasta las costas de Saman afectando las aguas del mar, Mexico : Sargazo, amenaza para el turismo y la salud, Mexico: On Mexicos Caribbean coast, mountains of seaweed grow, Sargassum, the brown tide that is invading the Caribbean, Puerto Rico: Buscan soluciones en el Caribe al sargazo, que marc un rcord histrico, Afrique : Influence des algues sargasses (sargassum fluitans, sargassum natans) sur les activits socioconomiques le long du littoral ivoirien Cte dIvoire Afrique de louest, Puerto Rico : Record amount of seaweed chokes Caribbean beaches and shoreline, Mexico : SARGAZO PROVOCA MUERTE DE TORTUGAS EN MAHAHUAL. who are looking for solutions. How does this stuff miss the (ta && ta.queueForLoad ? The sheer volume makes clean-up impossible. And, someday, when we can afford it, we'll pay our regular contributors with more than our gratitude. Likely named by Portuguese sailors who thought it looked like grapes, Sargassum is an abundant type of seaweed found near the surface in warm waters of the northwestern Atlantic Ocean. Communiqu de Presse tlchargeable (format PDF) en Franais. 2022 beaches impacted by Sargassum seaweeds. Summer 2022 sargassum blew past previous records for June; July dropped a tad and August is pending, but the University of South Florida, which tracks sargassum, says theres so much sargassum floating in the open waters right now that we can expect what they call beaching for at least a couple more months. The beaches of Belize, Honduras, Jamaica, Cuba, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Barbados, or islands such as San Andres, Guadeloupe or Martinique, among others, are affected by the blankets of seaweed every year. The "golden tide" also has hit humans hard. If you are a resident of another country or region, please select the appropriate version of Tripadvisor for your country or region in the drop-down menu. we always provide reliable information for tourists, travel agencies, journalists, scientists, academics, governments etc. Layer by Layer: A Mexico City Culinary Adventure, Sacred Granaries, Kasbahs and Feasts in Morocco, Monster of the Month: The Hopkinsville Goblins, Get Real: Defining Reality With Ashley Christine, How to Grow a Dye Garden With Aaron Sanders Head, Paper Botanicals With Kate Croghan Alarcn, Writing the Food Memoir: A Workshop With Gina Rae La Cerva, Reading the Urban Landscape With Annie Novak, Santuario de la Cruz Parlante (Sanctuary of the Speaking Cross), Secret Nun Cookies at Monasterio del Corpus Christi, The Hunt for an Elusive Florida Shipwreck That Killed 41 Enslaved People, Puzzle Monday: Golf, Only Slightly Abstracted, Indigenous Maple Syrup Makers Tap Into Tradition, Courtesy Brian Cousin, Florida Atlantic Universitys Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute], Before America Got Uncle Sam, It Had to Endure Brother Jonathan, The Sargasso Sea Is Plenty Wide, and It's Growing, Turtles Have Led Us to Their Secret Seagrass Meadows, Decoding the Mystery of Seagrass Fairy Circles, The Spectacular Beauty of China's Red Beach, The Wonderful World of a Garden Dedicated to Gourds, A 30-Acre Garden Inspired by the Principles of Modern Physics, How One Man Built a Sprawling Treehouse With a Dance Floor. 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