Quintana Roo Bolsters Sargassum Strategy With Satellite Monitoring and Research

Cancún, Quintana Roo — Governor Mara Lezama Espinosa led a working meeting to review and strengthen Quintana Roo’s response to sargassum, with a focus on satellite monitoring, scientific research and coordination with federal authorities and international organizations.

The meeting reviewed progress at the Sargassum Monitoring Center, which uses data from 12 European Space Agency satellites — mainly from the Sentinel family — to detect the seaweed and track its path and speed of travel.

Officials said the satellite images, some with a spatial resolution of up to 10 meters, are processed by algorithms that factor in ocean currents and winds to forecast how the sargassum will behave, giving authorities more lead time for decisions.

Tracking the seaweed from Africa to the Caribbean

Lezama said the monitoring allows officials to follow the seaweed’s movement from waters near the African continent as it approaches the Caribbean, giving the state a tool to plan containment and cleanup operations along its coast.

“We continue working on this macroalgae, sargassum, which affects the entire Caribbean — and I want to be very clear, not just the Mexican Caribbean, the whole Caribbean — but not a day goes by when we are not working on strategy,” she said.

Searching for ways to put sargassum to use

The meeting also covered research carried out with the Center for Scientific Research of Yucatán (CICY) to find ways to make use of the seaweed.

Among the projects are tests to determine whether sargassum can be used to make feed for certain species, part of efforts to ease the problems caused by its accumulation and disposal.

Lezama said scientific research, engineering and technological development are essential to turning sargassum into a usable resource, as well as to improving monitoring, collection and disposal work.

She also pointed to coordination with the federal government, the Mexican Navy, scientific institutions, environmental agencies and international organizations.

In that context, she acknowledged the backing of President Claudia Sheinbaum, who toured the Sargassum Monitoring Center during a recent visit to Quintana Roo to see the tools used to track the seaweed.

The governor noted that Quintana Roo recently brought together representatives from more than 45 countries to share experiences and examine technological alternatives to a phenomenon that affects nations across the Caribbean.

She added that the Global Gateway initiative and cooperation mechanisms with European countries keep channels open for scientific and technological projects related to sargassum management.

The meeting was attended by Óscar Alberto Rébora Aguilera, secretary of ecology and environment; Esteban Amaro Mauricio, director of the Sargassum Monitoring Center; Ángel Rivero Palomo, the governor’s private secretary; and Eric Arcila Arjona, head of the Governor’s Office.