by Donald Wood
Last updated: 9:55 AM ET, Fri March 22, 2024
Mexico’s Secretary of the Navy announced that the 2024
sargassum season has officially started, with efforts to monitor and
collect the stinky seaweed kicking into overdrive.
According to the Riviera
Maya News, the Secretaría de Marina is working with government officials in
Quintana Roo and municipal authorities to address the annual arrival of
sargassum and remedy the problems experienced during the 2023 season.
To handle the stinky seaweed, the Mexican Navy will send 22
smaller support vessels to the region in support of the larger oceanic
sargacero ship ARM “Natans” (BSO-101), which is scheduled to arrive during the
last week of March.
“We begin the 2024 Sargassum Care Season in the state of
Quintana Roo,” the Secretaría de Marina told the Riviera Maya News.
For the 2024 season, the Secretary of the Navy is planning
where to install anchors “for the deployment of containment barriers in Puerto
Morelos, Playa del Carmen, Tulum
and Mahahual.”
The region will use various methods to clear the sargassum,
including “sweepers, amphibious belts, compact loaders and vehicles.” Areas
using the cleaning techniques include Cancun, Isla Mujeres, Puerto Morelos,
Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, Tulum and more.
“As in previous years, this Institution will deploy 340
elements who will support all the aforementioned actions including
technical-scientific personnel who will monitor the behavior of this
macroalgae, operators of sargacero vessels and smaller vessels, barrier
containment operators, as well as personnel deployed on site to attend to
infrastructure maintenance needs throughout the season,” the Mexican Navy’s statement
continued.
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