Piles of sargassum seaweed are accumulating on the beaches of Florida's Key West.
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Florida's seaweed season typically runs from April until October, peaking in June and July. The seaweed comes in waves, depending on currents and wind direction. The seaweed itself is not harmful to humans, but decaying sargassum on beaches releases hydrogen sulfide that can impact people with breathing issues.
As summer is now in full swing, however, scientists with the University of South Florida Optical Oceanography Lab found a drop in the amount of sargassum blooms. Sargassum seaweed on a Fort Lauderdale beach. May 2023. They noted that the amount of seaweed dropped by about 9 million metric tons between May and June.
Sargassum seaweed is not a new phenomena, but this year's mass was the largest ever recorded. Florida's seaweed season typically runs from April until October, peaking in June and July. The seaweed comes in waves, depending on currents and wind direction.
As a result of this, Fort Lauderdale crews are out daily, scooping up the fresh sargassum from the beaches. They take truckloads of it to a park where the city repurposes it and by the time it decomposes, it has very little smell and becomes fertile soil.
Substantial sargassum is expected in June in both the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, according to the May report from the University of South Florida. That's no surprise to beachgoers who have been seeing the smelly seaweed on Florida beaches from Pensacola to Brevard County.
Playa Porto Mari on Curacao, Dutch CaribbeanOne of the most beautiful beaches in Curacao also happens to be one of the best Caribbean beaches without sargassum. Located on the west coast of the island of Curacao, Playa Porto Mari is a private beach which means there is an entrance fee.
USF reports it remains difficult to predict exact timing and location for individual beaching events but substantial amounts of the seaweed are expected in May in both the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. June is forecast to be the likely peak of the 2023 season, but impacts are expected to continue into July.
Florida's seaweed season typically runs from April until October, peaking in June and July. The seaweed comes in waves, depending on currents and wind direction. The seaweed itself is not harmful to humans, but decaying sargassum on beaches releases hydrogen sulfide that can impact people with breathing issues.
While the 2023 sargassum bloom isn't as large as originally expected, it will still be a major year for the algae and the lab expected it to continue increasing in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico in March. It is expected to travel west from the Caribbean Sea and become a hazard on some beaches in Florida.
Currently, beach cams in Fort Myers Beach and Naples show clear shorelines with little to no sargassum. It is noted that 'Seaweed Season' just ended, which tends to appear on Florida beaches in the spring, with a peak in June.
Sargassum season in the Mexican Caribbean typically runs from May through October, with July and August generally being the worst months for its arrival.
“Sargassum normally does not accumulate in places like Sarasota Bay or Tampa Bay,” says Tomasko. “The biggest problem has been around the resort beaches in the Caribbean and Southeast areas, like Miami Beach.”
At this time, red tide is not present on St. Pete/Clearwater's beaches. Although many national news outlets reported about a massive seaweed or sargassum blob coming to Florida this summer, this is not affecting the beaches of St.Pete/Clearwater in any way.
Researchers said this year could be the largest sargassum blooms ever recorded. It's already stretching over Haulover Beach, Sunny Isles, Hollywood Beach and Fort Lauderdale Beach.
As sargassum washes ashore every year in Key West, locals and visitors alike are primarily annoyed by the smell of the sargassum quantity on the beach. This giant blob of seaweed breaks up along the shore to create a mess on public beaches in Monroe County, but there's not too much danger involved.