Sargassum is type of brown seaweed that drifts on the ocean surface accumulating along beaches and coastlines throughout the Caribbean, Mexico, Texas and Florida, including Miami-Dade County annually from March to October.
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Sargassum season in the Mexican Caribbean typically runs from May through October, with July and August generally being the worst months for its arrival.
While exposed eastern shores are most likely to get hit by surges of sargassum, some beaches in Mexico have no sargassum. This includes Playa Norte on Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo and Cozumel's western shore. They're generally seaweed-free. However, much depends on winds and ocean currents.
2023 is shaping up to be a banner year for sargassum, a type of brown macroalgae now starting to wash up on beaches across the Caribbean. The thick dead tangled heaps of seaweed stink like rotten eggs and could cost many millions in holiday revenues this summer.
Sargassum is at its worst between April and August, peaking in July and August, although this year saw the seaweed arrive early, with some beaches being hit heavily in March. What is this?
Popular resort hubs, including Playa del Carmen and Tulum, have ramped up efforts to deter sargassum from affecting travelers. What is this? Both destinations have set up temporary barriers and hired more cleaners in an effort to attract more travelers.
Exclusion booms or barriers are moored in selected locations to keep the Sargassum seaweed off the beach where it will move with the wind and current either back to sea or down the coast.
While the overall amount of potentially toxic seaweed is declining, some beaches will still get hit with waves of it, the researchers said. Last month, for example, Mexico's Yucatan coast and the west side of Jamaica actually saw more sargassum, even as most places saw less.