It will most likely impact south Florida, but researchers do not believe the impact will be as large along Florida panhandle beaches. They will continue to monitor and report on the movement of this mass of seaweed over the course of the summer.
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Are experts sure sargassum seaweed will affect Florida? Sargassum seaweed around the Caribbean, along the ocean side of Florida Keys and east coast of Florida are inevitable.
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.
In Grenada, Grand Anse regularly tops the list of the world's best beaches due to its crystal clear waters and its 2 kilometre long stretch of white sand dotted with palm trees. It's also blessedly free of sargassum seaweed.
Sargassum season in the Mexican Caribbean typically runs from May through October, with July and August generally being the worst months for its arrival.
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.
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.
The sargassum seaweed that is washing up in mass amounts on South Florida beaches is carried from off the coast of Brazil by oceanic currents, finally arriving via the Gulf Stream to be blown ashore by the prevailing onshore winds.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.The seaweed called sargassum has been showing up for the last few weeks. Those on the beach in Volusia County think it could help rebuild the dunes and beaches after last year's hurricanes took several dozen feet of sand back to the ocean. “A lot of people think we move it. We don't move it.
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.
In Florida, barrier islands like Miami Beach and West Palm Beach tend to get the worst of it because they jut out closer to the Gulf Stream. But Atlantic beaches in states to the north also could see seaweed.
It's a natural plant is not an invasive species. no matter how much Sargassum we'll land on the east coast beaches, the west coast of Florida is largely spared every year [and] this year is no exception, Dr. Hu says.
Key West sargassum is probably the last thing you had in mind when planning your trip to the Florida Keys. Unfortunately, it's a natural occurrence year after year in South Florida.
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.
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.
It will not stop any ship. However, if you are out fishing on your boat, you will likely spend time cleaning a fouled prop. The real impact for a cruise is if the seaweed has landed on the beach you plan to visit.
“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.”