Mexico cleaned 100K+ tons of sargassum in 2026, but the seaweed crisis is now threatening its tourism

Mexico clea ed ove 100K to s of sa gassum at the begi i g of 2026, but is still faci g a seaweed c isis due to the i vasive species deeply impacti g its tou ism

A
vast
belt
of
b ow
seaweed
is
st etchi g
ac oss
the
Atla tic
Ocea ,
f om
the
coast
of
West
Af ica
to
the
Gulf
of
Mexico,
c eati g
a
phe ome o
so
exte sive
that
it
ca
be
t acked
f om
space.
K ow
as
the
G eat
Atla tic
Sa gassum
Belt
(GASB),
it
has
eached
ext ao di a y
p opo tio s
i
2026,
about
5,000
miles
i
le gth.Satellite
measu eme ts
showed
37.5
millio
met ic
to s
of
sa gassum
ac oss
the
Atla tic
i
May,
while
esea che s
at
the
U ive sity
of
South
Flo ida
(USF)
eco ded
33.6
millio
met ic
to s
ac oss
the
mo ito ed
Atla tic
basi
i
Ju e.
They
ow
expect
2026
to
be
at
least
the
seco d-biggest
yea
o
eco d.The
t a sfo matio
has
bee
ema kably
fast.
The
e o mous
belt
was
vi tually
o existe t
befo e
2010.
Withi
a
yea ,
about
1
millio
met ic
to s
we e
eco ded
ac oss
the
egio
i
2011,
compa ed
with
app oximately
40
millio
i
2025.
B ia
Ba es,
a
esea ch
assista t
p ofesso
at
USF’s
College
of
Ma i e
Scie ce,
told
Reute s
that
the
t e d
suggests
the
amou t
could
be
doubli g
oughly
eve y
five
yea s.

What
is
sa gassum
a d
why
is
it
sp eadi g?

A loss fo Mexica tou ism<b ><b >” msid=”133172198″ width=”” title=”While ope atio s to weed out the seaweed a e o goi g, sa gassum has still ma aged to each ume ous beaches of the Mexica Ca ibbea , whe e tou ists do ‘t wa t to su bathe o swim while e veloped i the ste ch of otti g eggs.” placeholde s c=”https://static.toiimg.com/photo/83033472.cms” imgsize=”” esizemode=”4″ offsetve tical=”0″ placeholde msid=”47529300″ type=”thumb” s c=”https://static.toiimg.com/photo/83033472.cms” class=”” data-s c=”https://static.toiimg.com/photo/msid-133172198/a-loss-fo -mexica -tou ismb b .jpg” data-api-p e e de =”t ue”/></p>
<p>
While<br />
ope atio s<br />
to<br />
weed<br />
out<br />
the<br />
seaweed<br />
a e<br />
o goi g,<br />
sa gassum<br />
has<br />
still<br />
ma aged<br />
to<br />
each<br />
ume ous<br />
beaches<br />
of<br />
the<br />
Mexica<br />
Ca ibbea ,<br />
whe e<br />
tou ists<br />
do ‘t<br />
wa t<br />
to<br />
su bathe<br />
o<br />
swim<br />
while<br />
e veloped<br />
i<br />
the<br />
ste ch<br />
of<br />
otti g<br />
eggs.</p>
</div>
</div>
<p>While<br />
ope atio s<br />
to<br />
weed<br />
out<br />
the<br />
seaweed<br />
a e<br />
o goi g,<br />
sa gassum<br />
has<br />
still<br />
ma aged<br />
to<br />
each<br />
ume ous<br />
beaches<br />
of<br />
the<br />
Mexica<br />
Ca ibbea ,<br />
whe e<br />
tou ists<br />
do ‘t<br />
wa t<br />
to<br />
su bathe<br />
o<br />
swim<br />
while<br />
e veloped<br />
i<br />
the<br />
ste ch<br />
of<br />
otti g<br />
eggs.<br />
Busi esses<br />
have<br />
educed<br />
thei<br />
staff<br />
to<br />
adjust<br />
to<br />
the<br />
d op<br />
i<br />
tou ism.<br />
Azul<br />
Luce o,<br />
a<br />
26-yea -old<br />
A ge ti e<br />
wait ess<br />
who<br />
wo ks<br />
i<br />
Playa<br />
del<br />
Ca me ,<br />
whe e<br />
she<br />
makes<br />
the<br />
majo ity<br />
of<br />
he<br />
i come<br />
off<br />
tips,<br />
said<br />
he<br />
estau a t<br />
“does ‘t<br />
have<br />
ove<br />
50″<br />
custome s<br />
a<br />
day,<br />
as<br />
pe<br />
a<br />
epo t<br />
by<br />
Gulf<br />
Today.<br />
No mally,<br />
that<br />
umbe<br />
is<br />
close<br />
to<br />
400<br />
whe<br />
the<br />
ocea<br />
is<br />
clea<br />
a d<br />
clea .The<br />
gove me t<br />
i sists<br />
that<br />
fo eig<br />
tou ists<br />
a e<br />
a ivi g<br />
i<br />
eco d<br />
umbe s,<br />
although<br />
P eside t<br />
Claudia<br />
Shei baum<br />
ack owledged<br />
a<br />
slight<br />
d op<br />
whe<br />
she<br />
u veiled<br />
a<br />
ambitious<br />
joi t<br />
st ategy<br />
betwee<br />
the<br />
gove me t<br />
a d<br />
hotel<br />
i dust y<br />
to<br />
fight<br />
the<br />
weedy<br />
i vasio .”The e<br />
have ‘t<br />
bee<br />
majo<br />
losses,”<br />
she<br />
added,<br />
att ibuti g<br />
the<br />
shift<br />
to<br />
the<br />
p ice<br />
of<br />
pla e<br />
fuel.<br />
Hotel<br />
occupa cy<br />
this<br />
summe<br />
has<br />
floated<br />
betwee<br />
55<br />
pe<br />
ce t<br />
a d<br />
70<br />
pe<br />
ce t<br />
depe di g<br />
o<br />
the<br />
desti atio ,<br />
whe eas<br />
the<br />
high-seaso<br />
ave age<br />
eached<br />
up<br />
to<br />
90<br />
pe<br />
ce t<br />
15<br />
yea s<br />
ago,<br />
acco di g<br />
to<br />
i dust y<br />
statistics.<br />
Nea<br />
o e<br />
mou tai<br />
of<br />
sa gassum<br />
is<br />
the<br />
Playa<br />
del<br />
Ca me<br />
hotel<br />
whe e<br />
Te e<br />
May,<br />
47,<br />
wo ks<br />
as<br />
a<br />
chef,<br />
but<br />
she<br />
complai ed<br />
that<br />
the<br />
“u bea able<br />
ste ch”<br />
was<br />
keepi g<br />
all<br />
24<br />
ooms<br />
empty.”The e<br />
is<br />
othi g<br />
ight<br />
ow,”<br />
she<br />
said.<br />
The<br />
sa gassum<br />
“has<br />
affected<br />
eve ythi g.”<br />
Bia ca<br />
Iba ez,<br />
33,<br />
had<br />
come<br />
to<br />
spe d<br />
a<br />
few<br />
days<br />
of<br />
vacatio<br />
with<br />
he<br />
family<br />
but<br />
was<br />
su p ised<br />
by<br />
the<br />
shee<br />
qua tity<br />
of<br />
seaweed<br />
o<br />
the<br />
beach.<br />
“You<br />
ca ‘t<br />
eally<br />
e joy<br />
thi gs,”<br />
she<br />
said.Chua mi<br />
Hu,<br />
disti guished<br />
u ive sity<br />
p ofesso<br />
of<br />
optical<br />
ocea og aphy<br />
at<br />
the<br />
U ive sity<br />
of<br />
South<br />
Flo ida<br />
(USF),<br />
said<br />
the<br />
wa i g<br />
sig s<br />
appea ed<br />
u usually<br />
ea ly.<br />
“The<br />
p ima y<br />
easo<br />
[fo<br />
the<br />
la ge<br />
amou t<br />
of<br />
sa gassum]<br />
is<br />
that<br />
this<br />
yea ,<br />
the<br />
weste<br />
Ca ibbea ,<br />
i cludi g<br />
the<br />
Mexica<br />
coast,<br />
sta ted<br />
high:<br />
about<br />
1<br />
millio<br />
met ic<br />
to s<br />
of<br />
sa gassum<br />
i<br />
Ja ua y,<br />
about<br />
10<br />
times<br />
the<br />
typical<br />
amou t<br />
fo<br />
that<br />
mo th.”As<br />
of<br />
ow,<br />
scie tists<br />
expect<br />
co ditio s<br />
alo g<br />
Mexico’s<br />
Ca ibbea<br />
coast<br />
to<br />
imp ove<br />
sig ifica tly<br />
by<br />
late<br />
Octobe<br />
o<br />
ea ly<br />
Novembe .<br />
But<br />
a<br />
lo g-te m<br />
solutio<br />
is<br />
still<br />
u clea .<br />
<a h ef=

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Mexico cleaned 100K+ tons of sargassum in 2026, but the seaweed crisis is now threatening its tourism

What is sa gassum a d why is it sp eadi g?

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What
is
sa gassum
a d
why
is
it
sp eadi g?