The Minister of Home Affairs, Mrs. Cora Richardson-Hodge, who is also responsible for Environmental matters, is among Government Ministers seeking to deal with the seaweed issue on a regional level. To that end, they recently attended a conference in the British Virgin Islands with a view to protecting the region’s beaches from the invading litter.
“We all know that many of the territories in the region have been affected and continue to be affected by the seaweed coming in to our shores from time to time,” she told media representatives in Anguilla on Tuesday. “The conference was intended to ensure, that as a region, we look at the issues and come up with ways in which we can deal with the sargassum seaweed coming in. On the first day we learnt about where it is coming from and what the issues are we are facing; on the second day we discussed manufacturing and other opportunities for use of the seaweed.
“What was interesting was that in St. Lucia there is actually a company that is using seaweed as a bio-stimulant – some people call it a fertiliser but in fact it is used to stimulate the soil. That is used somewhat here in Anguilla by some of the farmers who are using seaweed to assist with the growth of their crops. I am heartened that coming out of that meeting, we have seen that the Department of Environment in conjunction with the Agricultural Department are well on their way using seaweed as a bio-stimulant as well.”
