The arrival of this seaweed which prevents bathing and gives off a rotten egg smell when it decomposes is a real obstacle for the region’s tourist sector.
Sargassum alert. For many years now, scientists have observed a gigantic mass called the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt that stretches over 8,000 kilometers, twice the width of the United States, normally located between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic. ‘Africa.
Rotten egg and respiratory problems
However, as explained CNN, this belt, tossed about by the currents, should gradually approach the Caribbean and the coasts of Florida. If algae are already visible on Florida beaches, Dr. Brian Lapointe, a researcher at Florida Atlantic University, estimates that the American state will face a real flood of sargassum by July. Between December and January, the Sargassum belt has indeed doubled in size.
When in the sea, the seaweed serves as protection and food for fish and seabirds and can serve as shelter for an extremely diverse fauna, including the loggerhead turtles, threatened with extinction. When they die, algae can degrade water quality and endanger fragile ecosystems.
It’s when the sargassum reaches dry land that things get tough. In addition to the mounds that are created and its massive presence on the beaches which are a major obstacle to local tourism, they release as they decompose hydrogen sulphide, a gas which smells of rotten eggs and which causes headaches and sometimes vomitings.
In addition, this gas can cause serious respiratory problems and even contains arsenic, which makes it even more dangerous if consumed or used as fertilizer. In the Caribbean, it is not uncommon for schools or homes located next to infected beaches to be evacuated.
All the area concerned
Florida is not the only area affected. In recent days, sargassum has returned massively to the shores of Guadeloupe, which is pushing the state to “quickly experiment” with solutions.
“We are going to try to go very quickly on the establishment of deviant dams”, indicated the prefect of the region, Xavier Lefort, Friday in front of the press, after an emergency meeting with the actors concerned.
A “Sargassum II” plan, endowed with 36 million euros over four years, was announced in March 2022. “The credits are available”, assured the prefect, specifying that “if we have to put more, we will put more “.
In the Atlantic, according to the regional surveillance bulletin, the amount of visible Sargassum is 204% greater than last year.
