The sargassum problem continues along Quintana Roo beaches. The navy is now taking over to reinstall barriers and provide additional collection vessels.

Hotel associations and businesses that rely on tourism in the Playa del Carmen area met with the Navy representatives to discuss the mitigation measures to control the tons of sargassum that are affecting the otherwise beautiful white beaches of the Mexican Caribbean.

The economy of the area is being affected as the images flooding the social networks show the brown algae covering miles of beach in Playa del Carmen.

Admiral Alejandro López Centeno who heads the coordination of the National Strategy of Sargasso control informed them that a second vessel will be added to collect sargasso at sea off the coast of Playa del Carmen. They will also re-instal a barrier that stopped working last May. The combination of the vessels and the barrier is the only way to control the massive arrival of the sargassum.

The municipality is assisting and hoping this will result in a more efficient process, although with the extremely high arrival of the algae all efforts by manpower or ships are not enough. This has authorities, armed forces and business owners as well as potential tourists worried. The summer holidays are approaching at the same time as record high amounts of sargasso.

Source: SIPSE