Gov. Lezama Tours Sargassum Center With SEMARNAT Chief

Cancún, Mexico — Governor Mara Lezama Espinosa and Alicia Bárcena, Secretary of Mexico’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), visited the Sargassum Monitoring Center in Quintana Roo, where they observed the advanced technological equipment used to track the seaweed’s movement.

A Critical Tool for Coastal Protection

Governor Lezama emphasized the center’s importance in predicting and mitigating the effects of sargassum, a natural phenomenon that significantly impacts the state’s coastline.

Following the tour, Secretary Bárcena commended the team’s efforts, highlighting the collaboration between the Quintana Roo government and Mexico’s Secretariat of the Navy. “The work done here in Quintana Roo is vital,” she said. “The use of European satellites provides timely data, allowing us to identify critical areas and take action.”

How the Center Tracks Sargassum

Esteban Amaro, the center’s coordinator, explained the process of modeling Caribbean currents to predict sargassum’s path toward the Yucatán Peninsula. The team analyzes sea temperature, wind patterns, and other oceanographic and atmospheric factors to forecast the seaweed’s trajectory.

The center relies on the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 satellite, the only system capable of detecting sargassum. Amaro noted that this technology helps determine when the seaweed will bypass the region and how much will reach the shores.

During the visit, officials received detailed technical explanations on calculating the size of sargassum patches, their volume in cubic meters, and projected coastal landings.

Attendees and Collaborators

Also present during the tour were Rear Admiral Topiltzin Tlacaeletl Flores Jaramillo, coordinator of SEMAR’s Sargassum Containment Strategy, along with Quintana Roo’s Secretaries of Ecology and Environment, Óscar Rébora, and Tourism, Bernardo Cueto.