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Scientists Discover World's Largest Seaweed Bloom

Using a 19-year record of satellite observations from NASA, Brian Lapointe, Ph.D., co-author and a research professor at Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute who has studied Sargassum for more than four decades, is among a team of scientists from the University of South Florida and the Georgia Institute of Technology, who have discovered the world's largest macroalgae bloom.

The "Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt" extends from West Africa to the Gulf of Mexico. Last year, the massive 8,850-kilometer bloom contained more than 20 million tons of Sargassum biomass. This recurrent bloom and beaching events may just become the "new normal," according to a study published in Science.

In addition to satellite data, the team used environmental and field data to suggest that the belt forms seasonally in response to two key nutrient inputs: one human-derived, and one natural. In the spring and summer, Amazon River discharge adds nutrients to the ocean, and such discharged nutrients may have increased in recent years due to increased deforestation and fertilizer use. In the winter, upwelling off the West African coast delivers nutrients from deep waters to the ocean surface where the Sargassum grows.

To unravel the mystery, the team analyzed fertilizer consumption patterns in Brazil, Amazon deforestation rates, Amazon River discharge, two years of nitrogen and phosphorus measurements taken from the western parts of the central Atlantic Ocean near the Amazon discharge, among other ocean properties. While the data are preliminary, the pattern seems clear: the explosion in Sargassum correlates to increases in deforestation and fertilizer use, both of which have increased since 2010.

The conditions that appear to be associated with massive Sargassum blooms at magnitudes comparable to those in 2015 and 2018, are large seed populations during winter as a result of the previous year's bloom, high nutrient supply from the West Africa upwelling in winter months, and higher nutrient supply from the Amazon River input but normal or lower sea surface temperatures during the current years. If these conditions are met, then a massive bloom is likely to occur in the central Atlantic, followed by severe beaching events in the Caribbean Sea in later months.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the article on FAU.edu

As countries in the region - including Belize - continue to battle the Sargassum invasion, today we're re-posting an article by local blogger Rebecca Coutant of @sanpedroscoop. In the article, she shares about the very real issue of sargassum in coastal areas, when it's not normal, and what's being done to combat it.
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Popular national locations typically organize responses which include the removal of the sargassum from beaches and shorelines by the wheel barrow and truck load. The Sargassum can then be used as compost, landfill and even in the production of cosmetic products.

Sargassum Seaweed on Our Shores: When It's NOT Normal and What We Are Doing About It

The waters of Belize are not just pretty to look at; they are the center of our universe. The sea is the backbone of our economy on Ambergris Caye and for the coast of our small country. San Pedro, just a tiny fishing village about 40 years ago, has become a mecca for SCUBA divers, snorkelers and people who come to fly fish for tarpon, bonefish and permit - all three catch-and-release only by the law of Belize. Directly or indirectly, everyone's livelihood on Ambergris Caye depends on our ocean.

One of my favorite things to do is to walk along the beach…searching for sea-beans…seeds fall in jungles around the world, float down rivers and into the ocean. My collection fills coffee cans, jelly jars and buckets all over our house. Walking and collecting brought me some much needed serenity during the turmoil of 2020.

But in the last few years, at certain times of the year, huge amounts of algae are washing up on our shores…and clogging the shoreline. Even the word sounds gross. Sargassum. What is this stuff? Where does it come from? And what can we do about it. Let's start with each question.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the article on Oceana's website.

The Sargassum Plague

And another after-effect of climate change - and of harmful human activities - is sargassum. We've shown you what the beaches in San Pedro and Hopkins look like, but the problem is also present on the beaches of St George's Caye, Caye Caulker, and Placencia.

And as you know - sargassum stinks and is unsightly. But according to Oceana's VP, it also worsens the erosion of the beaches, and is bad for human health:

Janelle Chanona - Vice President, Oceana/Moderator
"But again, it's one more indicator that we are changing the natural environments, we always used to get sargassum but never at these levels so you look at what's changed. Well, the sea has gotten warmers, there's more stuff in it, there's more nutrients, there's more fertiliser, there's raw septic, there's a lot more things in it and it's creating the perfect environment conducive to this massive sargassum bloom so again it's really about looking at, well, if we don't like this much sargassum and if we hate what it's doing to our tourism product, then what can we be changing to make sure that what's coming out of the rivers, what they need to be instead of what they are now, and what are the things that we can do to help to mitigate to make sure that the environment isn't there. Sargassum also compounds the erosion that we're seeing along our beaches because when we're trying to remove it, we're taking out sand and that's compounding it, so that's one thing and yes, because there's so much organic matter within the sargassum that's floating in and all the plastic, I'm sure you've seen all the bits and pieces as well as the pieces of plastic in there, we can't treat it as a non-organic and that's actually creating, I think we've documented, some level of toxicity, it's caused impacts to marine species like turtles but I think we have also seen where residents along these more effected communities report not just their jewellery changing colour or their electronics being damaged, their computers, their TVs but also they're feeling that respiratory impact."

Chanona notes that while there is a Sargassum Taskforce, this issue is a conversation that needs to remain at the forefront.

Channel 7

CRFM and New Zealand's Plant and Food Research Ltd. exploring beneficial use of Sargassum influxes, as new historical record set for June

Delegations from the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) and Plant and Food Research Limited (PFR) of New Zealand have concluded a month-long tour in the Caribbean, including Cancun, Mexico, to gain firsthand knowledge of how the region has been coping with the persistent Sargassum problem. Incidentally, the mission was taking place as Sargassum influxes for the month of June hit a new historical record, underscoring the urgency of scaling up collaboration and private-public partnerships to convert Sargassum into economically viable, climate resilient products.

The CRFM contingent, comprised by Mr. Milton Haughton - Executive Director, Dr. Sandra Grant - Deputy Executive Director, Dr. Maren Headley - Programme Manager, Fisheries Management and Development, and Mrs. Beverley Sutherland - Project Coordinator, was joined by PFR's Head of International Development - Dr. Suzie Newman, and her team: Ms. Rosie Paterson-Lima - Program Manager International Development, Mr. Wilson Huang - Senior Commercial Manager, and Dr. Mario Alayon - Scientist & Development Engineer.

This tour marks an important milestone in the New Zealand-funded Sargassum Products for Climate Resilience in the Caribbean project, which seeks to mitigate the environmental and economic impacts of Sargassum seaweed influxes in affected Caribbean countries through the creation of inclusive value chains. The partners are now transitioning from phase 1, which involved raw material safety testing and harvesting operations review, to phase 2, which will focus on product and process development for Sargassum-derived products. Following the mission, the team is accessing the information gathered to formulate a plan of action for phase 2.

The first leg of the mission took the CRFM and PFR teams to Barbados, where they met with Hon. Adrian R. Forde, Rph. - Minister of Environment, National Beautification and the Blue and Green Economy and senior Government officials with responsibility for Blue Economic Growth and Fisheries, individuals from the private sector, and representatives of the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), the University of the West Indies' Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (UWI-CERMES), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), between June 8-10, 2022.

Subsequently, the mission traveled to Saint Lucia, where they also met with Hon Jeremiah Norbert, Deputy Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament, and other senior government officials and individuals from the private sector, including the Caribbean Network of Fisherfolk Organisations (CNFO) from June 11-14, 2022. They met with representatives of Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, in addition to community leaders in some of the heavily impacted coastal communities in Vieux Fort, Micoud and Dennery.

On the third leg of the mission, the CRFM and PFR contingents traveled to the Dominican Republic, where they met the District Director of Punta Cana Town - Mr. Ramon Antonio Ramirez, as well as representatives of the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo and private sector representatives involved in collection and management of Sargassum.

From there, the mission traveled to Belize, where the representatives of the CRFM and PFR met from June 21-26, 2022, with officials of government ministries responsible for Tourism, Agriculture, and Blue Economy, as well as CARDI, the University of Belize, and members of the private sector. While in Belize, the CRFM and PFR mission also traveled to the island of San Pedro for a site visit, to assess the areas that are being affected by Sargassum.

The final leg of the mission was Mexico. During June 26-29, 2022, the representatives of CRFM and PFR visited two (2) private sector companies, one which makes liquid fertilizer and soil enhancer from Sargassum, and the other which manufactures construction supplies from Sargassum.

"We were able to observe firsthand the effects of the Sargassum influx in the countries we visited. This allowed us to better understand the ongoing initiatives to utilize the Sargassum. The mission furthermore enabled us to make some critical connections with both private and public sector partners that will be useful as we move into the second phase of the Project," said Ms. Sutherland, the Project Coordinator for CRFM.

Based on the information gathered during the tour and the analysis done on the samples that were collected in the first phase of the project, the focus will be on the formulation of liquid fertilizers and construction supplies.

The June 2022 Outlook of Sargassum blooms in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, recently published by the University of South Florida Optical Oceanography Lab said, "…the total Sargassum [in the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and Central Atlantic area] amount increased from ~18.8 million tons in May 2022 to ~24.2 million tons in June 2022, thus setting a new historical record."

Sargassum Research
Terrell Thompson, Life Sciences Coordinator at Export Barbados (BIDC)

Cancun-based Dianco Mexico officially begins operations converting sargassum into organic fertilizer

The mounds of sargassum washing up on Cancun and Riviera Maya beaches is officially being turned into fertilizer. For the past month, Cancun company Dianco has been utilizing the unwanted seaweed since it began operations.

Cancun-based Dianco-Mexico began converting sargassum into solid and liquid organic fertilizers, which will be used in agriculture. Héctor Romero, the General Director of Dianco Mexico says it is a 100 percent Mexican company that consists of environmentalists, biologists, agronomists and businessmen.

Dianco accepts all sargassum that is collected in Cancun, Puerto Morelos and Playa del Carmen. Romero says instead of dumping the seaweed in a designated landfill or in the jungle, they convert it into organic fertilizer.

"All the sargassum is collected instead of being taken to the jungle and to areas where it affects the subsoil and therefore the aquifers since it does indeed contain heavy metals.

"We receive the sargassum from the corresponding municipalities and recover around 95 percent of the sand, which is eventually returned to the beaches to help with the problem of erosion.

Click here to read the rest of the article in tRiviera Maya News

Addressing the Sargassum Situation in Belize
Last week Cabinet reported on PM John Briceno's successful trip to Berlin, Germany, where, at the invitation of the technology company Variodin AG, he led a delegation of technical experts on a research and educational visit. A significant aim of the meeting was to better understand how Belize and the Caribbean region can capitalize on and mitigate the growing threat of sargassum to the region's critical tourism industry. PM Briceno is seeking technological solutions in managing sargassum, for the production of energy, and based on ongoing research, believes that Variodin's technology is suited for Belize's needs in helping to mitigate the sargassum problem. We asked the Caribbean Community Climate Change Center's International and Regional Liaison Officer, Ambassador Carlos Fuller about it.