(Nexstar) – Blooming record of sniff, toxic seaweed crushing in May, growing to over 37 million tons and flooding beaches around the Caribbean. If it’s already not bad enough, we expect more seaweed amounts to grow in June.
The University of South Florida’s Optical Oceanography Lab closely tracks the growth of this type of seaweed called Sargassum. Last month, when flowers exploded in the ocean, a large amount of sargassum began to wash away most Caribbean islands and Mexico’s Caribbean coast. Small quantities have also appeared in the Florida Keys, the beaches of southeastern Florida, the Mississippi Delta and the Texas Coast, researchers said.
The already record-setting size of seaweed mass is expected to grow even more in June, bringing in many sargasms to the Caribbean Sea, near the Caribbean coast.
“Salgassum flooding continues to occur most of the Caribbean and the islands, as well as along the southeast coast of Florida,” USF researchers wrote. They say it’s difficult to predict which beaches will be affected due to wind and current patterns.
Most of the large Sargassum belts still float in the Central Atlantic, and do not pose too many problems.
This problem begins when seaweed cleans up the land and rots and releases hydrogen sulfide. It smells like rotten eggs and can cause breathing problems in sensitive people.
“It’s a challenge, but it hasn’t affected every inch of the Caribbean,” said Frank Comitto, a special advisor to the Caribbean Hotels and Tourism Association.
At a popular tourist spot in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, authorities invested in the barrier to prevent Salgasam from reaching the coast, he said.
On St. Marten’s Dutch Caribbean territory, crews with backhoes were dispatched as part of the emergency cleanup after residents complained of a strong smell of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide.
“The smell is very bad,” Burns said.
As some Caribbean islands struggle financially, most of the cleanup is done by hotels, with some guests offering refunds and free shuttles to unaffected beaches.
The total mass of Salgassum observed in the Caribbean, Western and Eastern Atlantic Oceans and the Gulf of Mexico is approximately 37.5 million tons. Previous records were set in June 2022, with approximately 22 million tonnes of tonnes.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
