Gulfweed Algae Swamp Mexican Coasts Near Cancun Agencia EFE
go to original July 19, 2015

Researchers think the gulfweed might come from the Sargasso Sea near the Bahamas, or from the coasts of Brazil where there are a number of river estuaries. (EFE)

At the height of the summer vacation season, the touristic coasts of the southeastern Mexican state of Quintana Roo have been swamped by atypical amounts of gulfweed algae whose removal has become an emergency.

"It's a natural phenomenon that on this occasion is piling up in atypical quantities on the coasts, but it's being dealt with promptly so tourists can enjoy their vacations and so the environment is not put at risk," Rafael Muñoz Berzunza, the environment secretary for Quintana Roo, told EFE.

"We're in the nesting season of the sea turtle, an endangered species," he said.

The phenomenon, he said, is showing up all around the Caribbean and on the coasts of Central America. Researchers think the gulfweed might come from the Sargasso Sea near the Bahamas, or from the coasts of Brazil where there are a number of river estuaries.

According to data provided by the Environment and Natural Resources Secretariat (Semarnat) and the Ecology and Environment Secretariat of Quintana Roo (Sema), the areas with the greatest presence of gulfweed algae in this state are the Sian Kaan Biosphere reserve, Puerto Morelos and some areas of the Riviera Maya and Cancun.

Read the rest at La Prensa

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