Question time: Seaweed Update – Blog
Many members who will be visiting us in the summer may be asking whether there is seaweed along the shoreline. Carried by ocean currents and tides, seaweed naturally washes up on the coast, especially after storms or windy days. However, like other parts of the Caribbean and the Gulf coast of Texas and Florida, in recent years, stretches of the Quintana Roo coastline have seen excessive amounts of sargassum seaweed coming ashore. These landings occur during late spring and summer, the amount of seaweed varies and they do not occur every day. It is important to stress that not all beaches are affected.
Earlier this year, scientists forecast a larger number of sargassum landings for the summer and the Mexican government has boosted its collection program accordingly.
The Mexican Navy coordinates the sargassum control program and Cancun, Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen, Tulum and other municipal governments have an ongoing beach cleaning program. They hire additional personnel during the season to dispose of the seaweed as it washes ashore. Floating barriers are also installed in front of stretches of coastline such as bays or sheltered beaches with gentle surf that are prone to sargassum landings such as some beaches in the Playa del Carmen area, public beaches in Puerto Morelos and parts of Tulum, to help keep large patches of the seaweed away from the coast. Any seaweed coming ashore is then removed by brigades of workers and transported to a designated collection area.
A fleet of boats collects the sargassum at sea in different areas off the Mexican Caribbean coast and is supported by smaller boats, satellite monitoring and reconnaissance flights.
Beach cleaning at Royal Resorts
The Royal Haciendas participates in an annual sargassum control initiative with other resorts in CoraSol. A floating barrier across the bay is installed each spring. Extending from Mareazul in the south to Sandos Caracol in the north, it deflects approaching patches of sargassum.
The Royal Haciendas has a tractor and sweeper to collect seaweed, and this is used when the amount of sargassum coming ashore is manageable. It also has a contract with an external company to carry out beach cleaning during the season. This company has a sustainable approach to sargassum disposal and is processing it to make bricks for the construction of low-cost housing. Once the sargassum is removed and separated from the sand, some of the sand can be returned to the beach.
Royal Resorts and Grand Residences have their own beach cleaning program and contract the services of an external company during the season when necessary.
