Mexico's Riviera Maya saw a massive arrival of sargassum seaweed this past weekend, the first major one this year. Now the situation is improving, algae is being removed from the beaches, but it is probably possible to say that the season for the arrival of algae on the beaches of the Caribbean coast of Mexico has begun.
There was really a lot of algae. Vacationers had to put up with their presence on the shore and in the water. But for those who are familiar with the problem from previous years, the current invasion of algae did not interfere with their rest. The main thing is that the algae is quickly removed and does not accumulate on the shore. At the same time, the occupancy rate of hotels in the resort of Play del Carmen was close to 90% — Another “long weekend” has begun in Mexico.
22/03/2022 Puerto Morelos — Mexico#sargassum#sargasso#sargazo#sargasses#PuertoMorelos
#Mexico
More pictures and exact location on the official map 2022 —>t.co/c7aot8PCKxpic.twitter.com/W1CjPz6Rd7— Sargassum Monitoring® (@SargaMonitoring)March 22, 2022
Utilities say 50 workers were deployed to clean up public beaches in Playa del Carmen, collecting 80 tons of seaweed using hand tools and tractors. According to the environmental organization Red de Monitoreo de Sargazo, in the ocean north of Honduras there is a huge accumulation of algae that is moving towards the Caribbean coast of Mexico. It is impossible to say how much will reach the Mexican beaches, since it depends on the direction of the prevailing winds and sea currents. The volumes that reach the state of Quintana Roo represent only a small part of the accumulation of algae that moves to the north Atlantic.
Scientists predict that in the coming weeks the arrival of sargassum seaweed to the coast of the Mexican Caribbean Sea will increase significantly, and this year the volume of its arrival on beaches may reach more than 45 thousand tons. This is the fourth highest total since seaweed arrival data began to be collected in 2011, and appears to be lower than 2018, 2019 and 2021 so far.
According to Red de Monitoreo de Sargazo, 38 beaches in Cancun, Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen and Tulum had excessive and abundant presence of Sargassum algae. Now the situation is improving. Rapid beach cleanup and installation of algae barriers continues.
Actualización de la llegada de#Sargazoen las costas de#QuintanaRooal dia de hoy 22 de Marzo.pic.twitter.com/K5471iB8fU
— ACLUVAQ (@AcluvaqOficial)March 22, 2022
Let us remind you that the problem of the seasonal appearance of algae on the beaches of Cancun and the Riviera Maya has been acutely assessed since 2015. In , algae became a real natural disaster, threatening regional tourism. The Mexican government allocated almost $1 billion a year to combat them, and the Navy was appointed responsible for collecting algae at sea. Algae barriers have been placed along many beaches along the Caribbean coast, and municipal beach cleanup staff have been significantly increased. At the same time, the state algae management program has not yet been formed, and their industrial processing and disposal is lacking.
There is some good news. As of March 22, the state of Quintana Roo has abolished the mandatory wearing of protective face masks in open spaces. To be fair, we note that this requirement was not strictly observed before. When entering the beach, the mask could be checked, then it could be removed. Now all Mexican states are located in the safe, green sector of the epidemiological traffic light.