Tulum, Mexico Strengthens Anti-Sargassum Barriers

Government officials in Quintana Roo announced that over a mile of anti-sargassum barriers would be installed along the beaches of Tulum.

According to Poresto.net (Spanish) via The Cancun Sun, the region’s port authority revealed plans to install 2,618 linear meters (over 8,500 feet) of sargassum containment barrier last week, with the process beginning on May 12.

The government is using a coastal sargasso ship and two smaller vessels to install the seaweed-blocking structures, and warned the maritime community about the ongoing project along the coast’s tourist areas in the ninth municipality.

Local government officials said vessels attempting to travel over the barriers would face sanctions.

Port of Playa del Carmen head Daniel Antonio Maass Michel said the project would be completed by May 25 and run from Santa Fe Beach in the south to Mezannine Beach in the north.

The sargassum barriers are expected to remain in place until around November 15, depending on weather conditions, when they will be removed for the winter season.

In April, Mexico’s Secretary of the Navy, Jose Rafael Ojeda Duran, announced that the country successfully installed over 9,000 meters of anti-sargassum barriers along the coast of Quintana Roo.

To combat the problem, the Minister of Tourism for the Dominican Republic, David Collado, issued an appeal for a united effort to tackle sargassum as it washes ashore in large amounts in Mexico, Florida and the Caribbean.