Sargazo Overwhelms Quintana Roo Despite Massive Cleanup

Quintana Roo, Mexico — Efforts to combat the relentless influx of sargasso seaweed along Mexico’s Caribbean coast appear insufficient as this year’s record-breaking arrival of 80,000 tons overwhelms cleanup crews. Municipal workers, supported by heavy machinery, labor tirelessly to remove the macroalgae from Quintana Roo’s beaches, yet the brown tide continues unabated.

A Losing Battle on the Shores

Jorge Alberto Portilla, the seventh councilor of Tulum’s municipal government, acknowledged the struggle. “We are cleaning the beaches with workers, wheelbarrows, and one or two tractors, but we can’t keep up,” he lamented. Despite long hours and significant financial investments, the sargasso keeps washing ashore from the Atlantic Ocean.

In some areas, containment barriers spanning 9,500 meters have been installed off the coasts of Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, and Mahahual to trap the seaweed. However, the most effective solution lies in intercepting the sargasso in open waters before it reaches the shore, where it poses public health risks and threatens coastal ecosystems.

Naval Operations at Sea

The Mexican Navy (Semar) has deployed a fleet of 11 coastal sargasso vessels and the oceanic ship Natans to monitor and collect the seaweed offshore. Rear Admiral Topiltzin Flores Jaramillo, coordinator of Semar’s Sargasso Response Strategy, explained that this fleet can collect up to 500 tons per day.

“The coastal vessels can gather 20 tons each,” Flores Jaramillo stated. “These ships are entirely Mexican-designed and built by our naval engineers at the Coatzacoalcos and Chetumal shipyards.”

The Natans, operating within a five-mile radius (8.04 km) offshore, uses electric conveyor belts at its stern to pull sargasso into its hull, where sailors stack it with shovels and pitchforks. “Depending on conditions, the Natans can collect up to 250 tons in 12 to 14 hours,” Flores Jaramillo added.

After each mission, the seaweed is transported to disposal sites lined with geomembranes to prevent leachate contamination of aquifers.

Current Cleanup Totals

So far in 2025, Semar’s 380 operational personnel and 50 logistics staff have intercepted 10,900 tons of sargasso at sea. Combined with beach collections, the total removed this season stands at 60,800 tons.

Flores Jaramillo reaffirmed the Navy’s commitment to mitigating the environmental and economic impact of the sargasso invasion, emphasizing early detection and removal as critical strategies.