Mexican Business Group Joins Sargassum Cleanup Effort in Riviera Maya

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — A major Mexican business organization has joined efforts to combat sargassum seaweed in the Riviera Maya, with members pledging to install barriers and provide personnel for beach cleaning operations.

Fernando Muñoz Calero, a city councilor and head of Playa del Carmen’s Environment and Ecology Committee, announced that members of the Mexican Employers’ Confederation (Coparmex) met this week with officials from all three levels of government to learn about this year’s sargassum management plan.

The business owners offered to support the installation of containment barriers and provide staff for coastal cleanup in their concession areas along the Federal Maritime Terrestrial Zone.

“They want to do their part too,” Muñoz Calero said. “The municipality has many public beaches to attend to, and if we focus on private areas—which would be unfair since everyone should clean their own yard—it would become a very difficult task.”

During the meeting, officials agreed that businesses with restaurants, beach clubs, or hotels in the coastal zone would handle cleanup on their properties, allowing the municipal government to concentrate on public beaches.

Regarding the Puerto Aventuras Marina, the councilor noted that business owners confirmed they would install a barrier in Bahía de Fátima, with an investment exceeding 6 million pesos (approximately $350,000).

Muñoz Calero reported that more than 4,000 metric tons of sargassum have been collected throughout the municipality so far in 2026—far below the 30,000 tons removed last year.

He pointed out that similar sargassum levels affect other global tourist destinations like Miami, but suggested the issue receives disproportionate attention in Quintana Roo.

“This level of sargassum occurs in Miami and other destinations too, but sometimes it’s not as visible as here in Playa del Carmen or Quintana Roo,” he concluded. “Why? Perhaps because of attempts to damage the municipality or municipal government, but ultimately we’re all affected as a destination.”