by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:23 AM ET, Tue July 27, 2021
The arrival of stinky seaweed that collects on Quintana Roo beaches each summer is expected to slow in the coming weeks.
According to The Riviera Maya News, the Secretary of the Navy (SEMAR) said the majority of sargassum that has already washed up on public beaches has been cleared over the last three months, totaling an estimated 26,500 tons.
Local officials said the amount of seaweed expected in Quintana Roo and other regions along the Mexican Caribbean coast between August and September is expected to decline. SEMAR revealed the water current should reduce the possibility of a massive landfall in Quintana Roo.
While sargassum is still expected to arrive on the beaches, Lieutenant Reynaldo Vargas from the Oceanographic Institute of the Gulf and Caribbean of the Mexican Navy said the total amount is likely to drop "for the next two weeks."
"By taking into account the trajectories through the current models and in accordance with the algal coverage observed during the last week, it is expected that the landfalls will take place on Xcalac, Mahahual, Sian Kaa'n, Tulum, Playa del Carmen, east and south coasts of Cozumel and in Puerto Morelos," Vargas told The Riviera Maya News.
Vargas also revealed a portion of the incoming seaweed is expected to eventually land in the Gulf of Mexico, a move that should benefit the Quintana Roo coast for the next 15 days.
Last week, the Secretary of Tourism in Quintana Roo was working to update certification protocols and aiming to provide COVID-19 tests in hotels, especially ones that receive large numbers of travelers.
Earlier this month, Quintana Roo's Secretary of Tourism said the string of negative media coverage of the region has not impacted the number of visitors arriving this summer.
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