Al Jazeera English 
A massive bloom of sargassum seaweed is wreaking havoc across the Caribbean, with a record-breaking 38 million metric tonnes smothering shorelines over the past month. The unprecedented influx is damaging tourism, harming wildlife, and even releasing toxic gases that forced a school closure in Martinique. Fishermen like José Rodríguez from Puerto Rico report significant disruptions to their livelihoods, as the seaweed interferes with fishing methods and drives away marine life.
The environmental impact extends beyond economic concerns, as the dark seaweed blocks sunlight from reaching vital coral reefs. While experts are still studying the exact causes of this explosive growth, potential factors include agricultural runoff, warming waters, and changes in wind patterns and ocean currents. The widespread effects of this sargassum bloom highlight the complex interplay between climate change, human activity, and marine ecosystems across the Caribbean region.
Al Jazeera’s Paul Ging reports.
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#Sargassum #Caribbean #SeaweedBloom #ClimateChange #MarineLife #TourismImpact #EnvironmentalCrisis #CoralReefs #OceanPollution #Martinique #PuertoRico #ToxicGases
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Ocean temps are the warmest in Sept, yet there is an annual sargassum minimum then. Variability in SST alone does not explain the variability in sargassum concentration.
Can't they just eat it
The Gulf Stream has already slowed. This means that the sargassum that normally harbours baby fish and larvae is no longer moving as it should. Mariners have dreaded this moment.
It has fish living in it. The fish Dolphin feed off fish in the seaweed.
Yes, it can b harvested for fertilizer. Or composted, it's nutrient rich
Nature will nature my friend but some see inconvenient others see opportunities new fertilizer and bio fuel
Thank you for sharing .when tgat weed start to dry the smell of it can poison people .
Cool. Look at ALL of the Free FOOD!!! Go Ocean. GO OCEAN!!
Wow so many marine biologists here. That’s why our planet is so screwed. Total lack of critical thinking
warm water, high nitrogen fertilizers into the water from land is giving them a boost to extra growth.
Answers in the Bible
Start a compost business…😂
Mexico uses it to make bricks!
Well depending on how much microplastics in that seaweed it might not be good or you might be able to process it and turn it into something valuable. It can be turned into fertilizer and can be sun-dried it can be turned into smoothie powder. You can make seaweed salad out of it.
They should collect it and use it to make biodegradable packaging to replace traditional plastic packaging
Here in trinidad it had alotttttttt on mayaro beach
I was wondering what was going on
It’s real bad in my country Barbados 🇧🇧 MIA Motley it is imperative you do something
In belize it is too much as well.
This is the carbon cycle folks. We release too much CO2 and this is what nature does with it. Instead of crying we need to help that cycle move faster.
A friend of mine went to Fajardo and was walking along the shoreline, where all the Sargasso had collected, and her jewelry got tarnished by the sulfur in the air from the decomposing sargasso.
And it smells like 💩🤮 Went on a girls' trip for a friends bday, and we could not get in the water, it was so bad. St. Lucia. Crazy thing is on the other side of the island, the water was clean and clear.
A guy in mexico used it for making bricks. It was in a documentary