Typically, the algae season on the beaches of the Caribbean coast of Mexico begins in April, and from October the beaches are clean again. This year, social media users began publishing photos of beaches littered with algae as early as February. Algae was abundant on some beaches in Cancun and Playa del Carmen, and its appearance so early is quite unusual. However, it is possible to believe that the algae season on Mexican beaches has already begun.
The Quintana Roo Algae Monitoring Network, a respected environmental organization, predicts that 2023 will set another record for the amount of algae on Mexican beaches. According to the Network, a 300-kilometer-long patch of algae is now located along the Caribbean coast of Mexico. Southeast winds of 25 kilometers per hour have been driving the seaweed toward the shore for at least 15 days, and the winds have only gotten stronger in the last few days. The algae patch is not as dense as in the summer, and there is a chance that currents will break it up before it gets close to shore.
Based on satellite imagery, the Oceanographic Institute of the Mexican Navy has confirmed that algae is already quite abundant in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Between January 11 and February 6 this year, the amount of algae found in the ocean off the coast of Mexico increased exponentially from 200 tons to 17,000 tons. During the month of February, their arrivals from the South Atlantic will gradually increase, however, it is not yet clear whether this means a stable trend. The Mexican Navy is responsible for collecting seaweed from the sea before it comes ashore and is therefore monitoring the situation.
The Oceanographic Institute predicts that significant occurrences of algae on beaches will be observed in the coming days in Mahahual and Xcalaque in the south of Quintana Roo state. The amount of algae on the beaches of Tulum, Playa del Carmen, Puerto Morelos, in other words south of Cancun, will also be significant, but manageable. In Cancun there will be much less algae.
The institute's forecast for the whole of 2023 suggests that the peak months for sargassum seaweed will be April with more than 50,000 tons, and in addition June with a maximum peak of up to 62,000 tons. At the end of 2022, the Minister of the Navy reported that during the year, 52,647 tons of algae were collected from the coast of Quintana Roo as part of measures to combat this environmental phenomenon. In 2019, the largest volume was collected - a record 85,495 tons.
9,050 meters of algae barriers were installed to collect the algae, and 350 Navy personnel and 618 civil protection personnel were involved in the collection.
El sargazo que acosa las playas en México es una amenaza mayor a lo que se piensa; “se trata de uno de los mayores retos que enfrenta el mundo como consecuencia del cambio climático”, dijo el Gobierno del estado de Quintana Root.co/h72m1yi9tKpic.twitter.com/uVDfqsjDID
— SinEmbargo (@SinEmbargoMX)May 10, 2019
For its part, the Quintana Roo Seaweed Monitoring Network estimates that only 10 percent of all seaweed arrivals are captured and included in official statistics. The rest goes to unvisited beaches or protected natural areas, where it is not taken into account, is not cleaned up and harms the environment.
In Cancun, there is a lot of algae on the beaches of Punta Nizuc, Coral, Chac Mool, Delfines, Marlin, Ballenas and Las Perlas, as well as on Del Niños beach in Puerto Juarez. At the same time, the situation is manageable, the beaches are being intensively cleaned, and if there are no new arrivals, in a couple of days there will be no algae left on the beaches.