PUERTO MORELOS – The government of Puerto Morelos participated in the two-day National Seminar on remote sensing, monitoring, forecasting and early warning signs of the Pelagic Sargassum that is plaguing the Mexican Caribbean coast. The goal is to strengthen the strategies to deal with this phenomenon which has now become an annual issue.

The General Director of Public Services, Luis Cardeña Peña, said that Puerto Morelos was the only municipality of the the region to participate in this important multi-sectoral workshop. He explained that he was able to contribute his knowledge about the comprehensive attention that has been given so far to this cyclical problem. The annual return of the sargassum to Mexican Caribbean beaches not only affects the image of the destination but has also become an environmental issue.

“We are a benchmark in the attention to the sargassum phenomenon. We must remember the implementation of the Puerto Morelos Protocol. This is an initiative that we implemented to set an organizational precedent involving private initiative, civil society, experts, environmental technicians and the three levels of government, for the management of the contingency, ” Cardeña explained.

He also indicated that during the seminar, which was held by means of a video conference due to the pandemic, the municipal government and the National Commission for Protected Natural Areas (CONAMP), through the Arrecife de Puerto Morelos Marine Park, and The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), through its Academic Unit of Reef Systems (UASA), which is part of the Institute of Marine Sciences and Limnology (ICML), all had an active participation in the work tables with points of view, proposals and contributions.

Cardeña explained, it was a multi-sectoral workshop in which academics and experts from the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT), the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO), the Interdisciplinary Center for Marine Sciences (CICIMAR) were present. The Secretariat of the Navy (SEMAR), the Secretariat of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMERNAT) and the National Fisheries Institute (INAPESCA), and international scientists from countries affected by sargassum also attended.

“Our commitment, as a municipal government, is to continue drawing the critical route to address the environmental impact caused by the macroalgae, from its arrival to its final disposal. We will not lower our guard at any time, since Puerto Morelos and Quintana Roo require it ”, he concluded.

Source: El Punto Sobre La i