Federal Government Allocates 2 Billion Pesos to Sargassum Strategy in Quintana Roo

Cancún, Quintana Roo — The Mexican government and the state of Quintana Roo unveiled a comprehensive sargassum management plan on Thursday, pledging 2 billion pesos to intercept the seaweed before it reaches the beaches.

President Claudia Sheinbaum announced the strategy during her morning press conference, detailing a two-phase investment. The first phase, worth 768.7 million pesos, will raise daily collection capacity to 1,870 tonnes. It covers the purchase of two tugboats, six coastal sargassum vessels, 1.5 kilometers of dynamic barriers, and 50 kilometers of coastal containment barriers for priority areas: Cancún, Playa del Carmen, Puerto Morelos, Tulum, and Mahahual.

The primary goal is to intercept sargassum at sea. Currently, 1,200 tonnes are collected daily in open waters and 900 on the beach, with nearly 588 workers from all three levels of government and the private sector participating.

The strategy rests on four pillars: open-water collection, shallow-water collection, beach collection, and final disposal. It adopts a circular economy model to convert sargassum into products, biogas, biofertilizers, and biochar, generating jobs and clean energy through projects like CISEC and Podecibi.

“The Mexican government is investing 2 billion pesos for comprehensive sargassum management. What will we do? Capture more at sea, so we are buying more sargassum boats; more barriers – the best barriers available in Quintana Roo and worldwide will be installed to protect the beaches; and beach collection for any sargassum that makes it to shore,” Sheinbaum said.

“How to do it? With best practices. There are already environmental standards for collection, but we are now informing all hoteliers about the best way to pick it up from the beach without removing sand. That’s it in a nutshell. Where will we reinforce? In the five most important tourist zones of Quintana Roo: Cancún, Playa del Carmen, Puerto Morelos, Tulum, and Mahahual, covering about 40 to 50 kilometers of beaches,” she added.

Governor Mara Lezama noted that her administration has already invested over 770 million pesos in addressing the problem. “Experience has taught us that the best way to handle it is to intercept it at sea before it reaches our coasts,” she said, thanking President Sheinbaum for her support.

As part of international efforts, Cancún will host the European Union-Caribbean Global Gateway Sargassum Meeting on October 1 and 2, welcoming participants from Caribbean nations, Brazil, and Japan to exchange experiences and strengthen regional cooperation.

Environment Secretary Alicia Bárcena Ibarra explained that sargassum “has evolved from a temporary phenomenon lasting a few months to a long-term, continuous presence.”

“This year we had much more sargassum in the region. In the Mexican Caribbean, up to 90,538 tonnes per day were recorded. Under low conditions, the level is 40,000 tonnes. So in 2026 the presence was 27 times higher than the historical average. We estimate that around 10% of the volume washes up on Quintana Roo’s shores. We are in a difficult, atypical year,” she said.