Main Content

Welcome to St. Croix
Island Life Real Estate

Home » Sargassum Seaweed in the USVI

Sargassum Seaweed in the USVI

Over the past 10 years or so, our coastlines have periodically been plagued by huge, stinky deposits of Sargassum seaweed. The seaweed is so dense it is nearly impossible to remove. It is noxious and causes breathing difficulties. What is causing this? An article written by Jake Spring in Brasilia and Cassandra Garrison in Mexico City; edited by Katy Daigle and Marla Dickerson cited that “A nutrient-charged outflow (sewage and farm run-off from the Amazon) is just one of several likely culprits fueling an explosion of seaweed in warm waters of the Americas. It’s likely a complex mix of climate change, Amazon rainforest destruction, and dust blowing west from Africa’s Sahara Desert fueling mega-blooms of the dark-brown seaweed known as sargassum, which now stretches for nearly 9,000 kilometers.” Unfortunately, it appears that this phenomenon will continue until there is a change in public policy,” said Carlos Noriega, an oceanographer at Brazil’s Federal University of Pernambuco. Brazil, for example, could slow deforestation, which has led to a boom in cattle ranching that allows loose soil, manure, and fertilizer to wash into rivers. He also noted the burgeoning human population in Brazil’s Amazon region. The five largest cities there have grown by nearly 900,000 people since 2010, and much of the region lacks sufficient sewage treatment.

“Treating sewage and stopping deforestation, that’s the only way to control it,” Noriega said. Sad news for the world, and especially those of us in the Caribbean. So in the interim, we just have to live with it in the Spring – and find unspoiled beaches. But if you’re planning a vacation to the Caribbean in the Spring, especially if you are renting a place on the beach, good idea to check with the property owner to see if the seaweed is bad there.