Cancun, QR. The Secretary of Ecology and Environment of the state of Quintana Roo (Sema) estimates the arrival of around 4,000 tons of sargassum on the coast of the Mexican Caribbean during this week.
The most recent Sema report states that at the end of the first quarter of the year a total of 27,633 tons have landed in the Mexican Caribbean.
The amount of sargassum is increasing rapidly, as a previous report on March 24 reported the arrival of 18,905 tons on the coast of the entire state.
In just six days the runoff of organic matter on the beaches increased by 8,728 tonsthat is, 31.5 percent.
It is also anticipated that the strong winds from the southeast, together with the local current system, will continue generating arrivals of sargassum in excessive quantities throughout the Quintana Roo coastline during the next few days.
The 4,000 tons would enter the entire coastline, from Xcalak to the vicinity of Cancun, as well as east of Cozumel Island.
Given this, Sema announced that the alert level for the estimation of recales in the Mexican Caribbean is located in category “8”, which corresponds to the denomination of “Excessive”, according to which, on some beaches, sargassum it accumulates in mounds of more than 90 centimeters in height in less than 24 hours, according to the traffic light and the criteria of the “Scale for the estimation of sargassum runoff on the beaches of the Mexican Caribbean”, developed by the Oceanographic Institute.
The agency adds that currently, in the southern region, from Xcalak to the outskirts of Mahahual, surface currents with a northerly direction and speeds of 0.55 to 1.96 m/s predominate, and in the northern region, from Sian Ka’an to Cancún with a northeasterly direction and speeds from 0.70 to 1.70 m/s, finding wind conditions from the southeast of 17 to 22 knots (31 to 40 km/h).
joint work
Last weekend, Governor Carlos Joaquín González said that in order to deal with the sargassum phenomenon and maintain the largest number of clean beaches during the Easter season, work is being done in coordination between the three levels of government, the private sector and tourist service providers.
“We still have a lot to learn about sargassum, but the participation of society is also required and that each and every one of us can contribute to cleaning the beaches, especially now that a large volume of algae is expected to arrive,” he explained.
The state president held a working meeting in Mahahual with service providers, hoteliers, restaurateurs and municipal authorities, where attention strategies were announced and their collaboration was requested.
The state president specified that it is a natural phenomenon that is practically impossible to stop, but that there is a whole strategy for its attention.
“We must be very clear about this and as a society we must unite. You have to look for cleaning options, because large volumes can be lifted, but more arrives and it seems that nothing is done, “explained the head of the local Executive.
He recalled that last year 45,000 tons of sargassum were collected on land and up to 90,000 tons in past years. “We are looking for alternatives to avoid economic damage as much as possible.”