We have been living in Anguilla on a south-facing beach, and have never in 20 years seen such large quantities of Sargassum weed on our beach as this year. It started to become noticeable 4 years ago or so, and has steadily increased annually – This summer we have seen a bumper crop, with mounds reaching 4-6 feet all along the beach. We have heard reports of tourists canceling their reservations because some of our beaches do not reflect the “Tranquility Wrapped in Blue” image that is the major attraction for many of our visitors.
It would require a major investment in machinery and labour to clean even a few of the affected beaches on the island. It does make excellent fertilizer once the salt is washed out, but that would only use up a fraction of what is coming ashore. There is also the danger of sand being removed by this process, which would degrade the beaches.
I have been searching the web for an explanation for the sudden and dramatic increase in Sargassum weed in the area, and notice a few articles that suggest at least some of the weed is propagating in the Southern Atlantic, off the coast of Brazil, in a new Sargasso Sea, rather than being from the “traditional” Sargasso Sea in the North Atlantic. I interpret this to mean that it could become a recurring annual phenomenon. It is even reaching into the Gulf of Mexico in large amounts, which is unusual.
I have a novel suggestion that I think deserves detailed studies by the experts, which could represent a win-win solution. There are probably many fishing trawlers that are less than fully utilised. The “strings” of weed can easily be spotted at sea, and perhaps could be harvested by specially-equipped trawlers, and deposited at biofuel refineries at strategic locations throughout the area. Harvesting at sea should be easier than removing from land, and barges could be used to accumulate larger quantities of the weed. There are several potential benefits that I can think of:
1) Reduce the amount of weed being deposited on our beaches, especially on islands that are highly dependent on tourism.
2) Generate a decent ROI for the operators of the biofuel refiners. The biofuel could then be sold to the diesel generating plants on many islands.
3) Provide employment for people in the fishing industry Trawlers come in with weed, refuel for free with biofuel, and fish on their return trip to home ports.
4) This would be a “green” solution, as it would provide for a regional reduction in the carbon footprint of diesel plants on islands in the area
It would require a detailed study to project the amount of weed that could be harvested, the cost to transport and refine, and of course the ROI for the investors in the refinery project. I am not equipped to make this kind of analysis, but I feel that it would be worth the effort. It is becoming obvious that this problem is affecting tourism throughout the Caribbean, not just Anguilla, and will require a regional solution.
– John Bedford
