Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — An unusual sargassum influx outside the typical peak season triggered a major cleanup operation in Playa del Carmen’s El Recodo area on Monday, with workers removing 132.30 tons of the seaweed.
Approximately 50 people from the municipal beach authority Zofemat and local hotels participated in the cleanup, which focused on the stretch between 14th and 16th Streets where the sargassum concentrated most heavily.
The work was done mostly by hand due to severe beach erosion in the area, according to Zofemat.
This latest arrival brings the total sargassum that has washed ashore in Playa del Carmen outside the normal seaweed season to 2,000 tons. The first atypical influx occurred on January 8 with 25 tons at Playa Mamitas, followed by 1,000 tons at El Recodo on January 26. Since then, smaller influxes have continued in what authorities consider one of the most critical zones.
Officials from all three levels of government, tourism service providers, and business owners have expressed concern about these off-season arrivals, predicting a difficult sargassum season ahead.
To prepare, municipal authorities announced on February 11 the installation of a marine barrier stretching up to five kilometers to contain sargassum. The first phase between Parque Fundadores and Playa Golondrinas has already placed 69 modules of 15 meters each, covering just over one kilometer.
Kandy Mendoza, municipal secretary of Sustainable Environment and Climate Change, reported that Playa del Carmen collected 30,580 tons of sargassum in 2025, the highest amount recorded in the past four years.
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