Do they have a sargassum/seaweed problem like many of the other islands right now- especially Punta Cana, is it terrible. The most impacted ecosystem is the sandy beach where erosion occurs due to inundations. All rights reserved (About Us). I also saw that there was a rise in the number of young people with type two diabetes or obesity. Discard monarchical titles. more. The Minister also encouraged farmers and entrepreneurs to maximise the opportunity, and experiment with the use of the seaweed to produce fertiliser and other products. Looking for ALL Inclusive Barbados vacation under $1000 USD, All Inclusive/Adults Only/Smaller Resorts, Crystal Cove by Elegant Hotels - All-Inclusive, Waves Hotel & Spa by Elegant Hotels - All-Inclusive, The House by Elegant Hotels - All-Inclusive, Adults Only. Just because something is unsightly, doesnt mean its not natural. font-size:.875em; More than a decade after the first inundation event, sargassum is still widely viewed as an environmental nuisance. Is there sargassum in Barbados? - TimesMojo Three coasts on Providenciales, Long Bay Beach, Five Cays Beach, and Blue Hills Beach, can experience annoying levels of sargassum at times, yet these beaches simply dont get a large amount of visitor traffic. According to the report, the level of sargassum arriving has increased considerably as there is six per cent more that is now visible in the Atlantic than this time last year. Sargassum drifts have been recorded in the Americas by early European explorers since Columbus. Goat feed, soap and biofuels wont make much of a dent in these heaps any time soon, but they are a sign of coastal resilience and of local economies adapting to turn a rotten mess into something of use, whatever the changing oceans wash up. Tropical Storm Bret no longer forecast to become a hurricane - The Pointing out that each territory could learn from the next, Mossiah said Unfortunately, it is not only Belize but it is our entire Caribbean region that is affected and has been experiencing this problem.. River Bay, Oistins, Skeetes Bay, Consett Bay are some of the coastal communities greatly affected by inundations. Your guide to Carnival across the Caribbean. What we are trying to do is make the clean-up of contaminated areas profitable, so that there is an incentive to do it, improve quality of life and protect the environment, says Allen. However, he cautioned persons to remember that the algae can return just as it was removed, depending on the volume coming in. Have just returned from (ta && ta.queueForLoad ? 2015. .dropcap-letter { At the start of the animation, small patches of Sargassum are scattered across the waters of the Caribbean Sea and the tropical Atlantic. Implications of the events on the tourism and fisheries sectors as well as the environment are provided. Toast the new year with a Buddhist offering in Sri Lanka or invigorating safari in Kenya. One major hotel, The Crane Resort, bought and installed a seaweed boom to try to contain the sargassum to prevent mass strandings by their hotel; however, this method was not very effective as the boom only lasted for a short period. Some are turning sargassum into materials from paper to building materials. Noting that the country was at the start of the seaweed season, the Minister noted that projections for this year indicated that the presence of the algae would be close to the 2018 numbers. I liken it to geology in a tin, says Allen. Report inappropriate content 1-10 of 35 replies Sorted by 1 2 3 4 Canby Burlington, Canada Level Contributor 15,339 posts 63 reviews 78 helpful votes 1. The Atlantic hurricane season began June 1 and ends Nov. 30. Any submissions made on our comment section, are solely the views of the individual and not Barbados Today. It's not for everyone to move during a stay. A Draft Sargassum Adaptive Management Strategy (SAMS) for Barbados (2021) was developed under a planning grant partnership between the then Ministry of Maritime Affairs and the Blue Economy (MMABE), UWI-CERMES and GEF Small Grants Programme UNDP. Sargassum is a type of leafy, rootless and buoyant algae that bunch up in islands and floats around the ocean. I often go out harvesting on the beaches, early in the morning, and I think, wow, all of this is free, for me. Sargassum FAQ | NOAA CoastWatch - just FYI. Sargassum seaweed blooms in South Florida are particularly bad right now, with areas like the Florida Keys bracing for the worst in March 2023. Seaweed a pest in the north - Barbados Today The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt, as it's known, is visible from space, stretching like a sea monster across the ocean, with its nose in the Gulf of Mexico and its tail in the mouth of the Congo. Eutrophication, which refers to nutrient enrichment of water that leads to excessive marine vegetation growth, the subsequent de-oxygenation of water, and resulting in loss of the larger organisms, can be a serious side effect of sargassum in the smaller waterways. } The digital emissions from this story are an estimated 1.2g to 3.6g CO2 per page view. ta.queueForLoad : function(f, g){document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', f);})(function(){ta.trackEventOnPage('postLinkInline', 'impression', 'postLinks-110562316', '');}, 'log_autolink_impression');Barbados , the weed is bad on the south coast particularly near Sandles who had the diggers out most days . Sargassum seaweed covers a beach on the eastern coast of Barbados, in June 2022. At the national level, the Blue Economy team work together to clear and remove sargassum from affected beaches using manual labour and heavy equipment. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Christopher Corbin, the acting coordinator for the UNEP Cartagena Convention Secretariat, told UN News that the focus of the Convention is shifting from policy to local action. As a community we decided to do this to protect the planet and take care of our beaches, says Gonzalo Balderas, founder of Biomaya Initiative. The hotel tax is nine per cent and we gave a tax relief of two per cent of that nine per cent so that hotels could then use that money to do some cleaning up. The pungent smell and unsightly appearance are driving tourists away from beach resorts in the Caribbean and Mexicos Yucatan peninsula a blow to the regions economy, which relies heavily on tourism. Where to stay, eat, and play to support Black-owned businesses on the Caribbean island. He added that the area was usually cleaned by staff of the National Conservation Commission, but in the recent past, there were challenges with equipment. In recent years, sargassum has made headlines due to its impact and accumulation on beaches in the Caribbean, Lucayan Archipelago, Antilles, and Florida. The response will be a whole of government response, he indicated. more, You seem to have JavaScript disabled. if you want to avoid it 99.9% of the time - suggest staying in the Holetown area on the west coast, as it is very rare there, owing to the way the sea currents carry the seaweed (it gets diverted back towards the West by the currents that flow around the Bellairs ringing reef) Additionally, it has been reported that sargassum inundations have resulted in algae blooms. This is the version of our website addressed to speakers of English in United Kingdom. Barbados - SARGASSUM INFORMATION HUB 1. Here Comes the Boom: Crane Resort Ramps up Fight against Sargassum Seaweed. Loop News, September 30, 2015. 2019. Despite sargassum inundation being an issue to Barbados for a decade, the island has not been able to do much to contain the influxes. Call for more counsellors in schools By Jenique Belgrave A plea is being made for more people to be assigned to schools to 3rd floor, CGI towers, Warrens, St. Michael. According to the report, the level of sargassum arriving has increased considerably as there is six per cent more that is now visible in the Atlantic than this time last year. the link below shows a map of how the sea current runs north to south along the northern part of the west coast - and then around or just south of the Holetown Bellairs area - it turns due westward -- while the current across the south coast runs east to west -goes around Needhams point and start to run . Awganic Inputs recently carried out a pilot project, converting 544kg (1,200lb) of sargassum into goat feed and selling it to farmers for $0.26 (20p) a kilogram. Besides its catastrophic impact on tourism, sargassum is also a public health concern, says Wang. The reduced hotel occupancy during influx events has also resulted in a loss of foreign exchange. Sargassum on an uninhabited cay in the Turks and Caicos. Leeward Beach on Providenciales. Learn how your comment data is processed. We're staying at the Hilton and haven't been able to use the beach for the last two weeks so have been walking over towards the Radisson, but today the seaweed has reached that strip . He also disclosed that Belizean authorities were considering a major clean energy project using sargassum and transforming it into energy. The Seaweed Piling Up on Caribbean Beaches Is Here to Stay - The Atlantic //--> Bret had just moved through the Windward Islands as of Friday. At the same time, some regional tourism industry operators are reporting a ramping up of effort to deal with the ongoing issue, as they outlined some best practices from which other destinations can learn. Click the links below to download the app for Android and IOS. After that we are seeing recurring, massive sargassum blooms in the central Atlantic, says Mengqiu Wang of the University of South Florida, one of the team who discovered the Atlantic-spanning bloom in 2018. Sargassum can appear at any time. Tropical Storm Cindy forms behind Bret in an early and aggressive start As others noted, there is no way to say for sure but of all the years we have spent on the south coast I have not seen the sargassum at xmas time. Disclaimer | Home / Environment / UWI centre predicts influx of sargassum, SOURCE: CMC Some islands in the Eastern Caribbean were told to brace for a moderate to severe influx of Sargassum seaweed in the coming months. The long-range track for Cindy shows it weakening to a depression and then a non-tropical system by Wednesday, when it could be somewhere between the Bahamas and Bermuda. Mr. He encouraged other hoteliers to do the same, while calling on industry players to be extremely cautious as they clean up the seaweed to avoid disturbing turtle nests. Largest-yet seaweed bloom headed to Florida and Caribbean - EarthSky Making reference to the ongoing situation at River Bay, St Lucy, the Minister said the solution would be to remove the seaweed from the area using machinery. Sargassum has also restricted access to recreational beaches for prolonged periods, as well as beach, water and air quality when seaweed rots. 3. US Supreme Court strikes down race-based college admissions, Police investigate unnatural death of St James woman, Employers pay out $1.2 million for unfair dismissals, Frederick Smith Secondary gets extra security guard, Sweet money coming in for 2023 sugar crop, MP Kirk Humphrey delivers stationery and encouragement to 11-plus students. It was expected to stay well to the south of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola. Report inappropriate content JanSt1 Traverse City. While the coronavirus pandemic has stalled production for now, Morrison hopes to scale up and start selling cheap sargassum feed across Jamaica next year. The National Conservation Commission (NCC) is the primary government agency involved in coordinating sargassum clean-up exercises, and conduct them daily along the south and east coasts the islands windward coastlines that receive the greatest sargassum exposure. Neither storm is expected to affect the U.S. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. The emissions from travel it took to report this story were 0kg CO2. The Government of Barbados and various stakeholders are keen to unearth opportunities to translate this raw material into profit. Sargassum fight - Barbados Today Wind shear is forecast to increase in that area, and Bret is expected to weaken and dissipate in the Caribbean over the weekend, according to the hurricane center. Sargassum symposium summary. CERMES. We were here in mid June last year and there was a lot of weed on the south coast beaches , this year we came out mid May and so far have seen no to very little weed apart from the last few days and the large Matts out at sea , hence my comment re it starting to come in to the beaches late May early June. In recent years, sargassum has made headlines due to its impact and accumulation on beaches in the Caribbean, Lucayan Archipelago, Antilles, and Florida. Locals warned to expect sargassum invasion this year, COPYRIGHT 2020 BY DIGICEL | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, Florida records first local malaria cases in 20 years, Homeowner shot by intruder in Christ Church, New Stadium with Bajan design and Chinese grant funding soon, 4 Smugglers, over 2,000 pounds of cocaine intercepted in Caribbean Sea. What is sargassum? Here's why seaweed is piling up along Florida - NPR Steve 0share 0 0 0 0 Never mind food poisoning, scam artists, or even hurricanes. In normal years, sargassum is a blessing rather than a curse. Bret had just moved through the Windward Islands as of Friday. As of 4 p.m. CDT Friday, Tropical Storm Bret was located about 170 miles east-northeast of Curacao and was moving west at 21 mph. Barbados depends heavily on coastal tourism and consequently tourism assets are impacted by sargassum inundations. Tropical Storm Bret is forecast to become a hurricane by Wednesday - CNN Far to the east of Bret is the newest Atlantic tropical system, Tropical Storm Cindy. The destruction of the Amazon rainforest is also thought to have fueled the growth of sargassum. Allen and a team of researchers from the universities of Exeter and Bath devised a process called hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL), which uses high pressure and temperature to split wet biomass into four components: a bio oil that can be upgraded to biodiesel, water-soluble organic compounds used to produce fertiliser, carbon dioxide (which the researchers say they aim to capture rather than release into the atmosphere) and char, a solid material containing all the metals found in the seaweed, which the team also plans to recover at a later stage. Re: Sargassum 4 years ago Save Yes and no, depending where it floats to and the amount varies. Besieged by seaweed, Caribbean scrambles to make use of the stuff Save. The formulation of the compost is now at an ideal stage, and some of our early adopters have been knocking on our doors to try to get it. This Year's Sargassum Seaweed Forecast Stinks - Green Matters Tourism assets located on the affected coasts are impacted sargassum inundations. I had my eye on producing seaweed fertilizer further down the road. Re: Sargassum 1 year ago Save Sargassum can appear at any time. In Barbados, a University of the West Indies research team is distilling sargassum along with waste from a rum distillery to make methane, which can be turned into compressed natural gas to power . Set up in 2019, the Lab inspires a culture of innovation through locally driven solutions in key Blue Economy sectors such as fisheries, marine conservation, renewable energy, tourism and waste management. Shore excursion cancellations -alternative options? font-weight: 600; It is therefore important that we address this sargassum issue because besides foreign exchange earnings, it has a tremendous impact on the circular flow of money throughout the economy, he added. In Barbados, toxic chemicals used in agriculture are killing the beneficial organisms, the life in the soil. Sargassum Monitoring , Surveillance Sargasses document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. I figured it is time for action.. The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt is the largest macroalgae bloom in the world, and this year's bloom is the largest recorded, spanning more than 5,000 miles. There are also implications for the fisheries sector. It can appear for a day or short period and disappear for weeks or months and then return massively. Customize your news feed, save articles for later, view your reading history and more. This smelly scourge of the sea has been on the rise in recent years BIG TIME. The hurricane center said that if Cindy stays on the forecast track it should remain well east and northeast of the northern Leeward Islands through early next week. 1 year ago Save Thinking of going to Barbados Xmas time. What to know about the sargassum seaweed blob hitting Florida : NPR A sargassum bloom the width of the Atlantic Ocean caused havoc on beaches, but locals in Mexico and the Caribbean are fast finding ways to turn the seaweed invasion to their advantage. Part of the Labs mandate is to research alternative uses for sargassum seaweed and fish offal for climate action. In the open sea, healthy patches of sargassum can soak up carbon dioxide and serve as . 5 years ago. Re: Sargassum seaweed. For the more rotten sargassum, it is turned into charcoal and sold for use in cosmetics. A handpicked selection of stories fromBBC Future,Culture,Worklife, andTravel, delivered to your inbox every Friday. Cindy is expected to miss the Lesser Antilles and also weaken next week. Sargassum is considered a macroalgae, and the species that plagues some popular beaches in the Caribbean is little different from the typical seaweed that grows on the ocean floor and reefs in that its holopelagic, with its entire life cycle occurring while floating in the open ocean. This is the version of our website addressed to speakers of English in the United States. Before that we did not see much sargassum. Scientists at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill Campus are actively conducting biochemical research on the potential applications of sargassum in several sectors such as agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and bioenergy. From the start, when we did some trials with peanuts, we saw freakish results in terms of the growth: the small test plot we used was getting around four times the amount of peanuts that you would normally get. Thinking of going to (ta && ta.queueForLoad ? That means it will be a big year for sargassum, and therefore, there has to be a big response, he said. . You can't really predict it and (ta && ta.queueForLoad ? Additionally, he said the government was able to grant duty exemption on the importation of equipment that would be used in the cleaning up of the sargassum. For guests staying on the main tourism island of Providenciales, the short answer is typically no. Residents have indicated that the sharp unpleasant scent from the rotting weed, which has covered the beach, was not their main concern. Daily Updates We monitor the impacted areas around the clock. Under normal weather conditions and in moderate quantities, sargassum can help beach growth as it traps sand and encourages beach accretion. Since we kicked off in 2017, we have been operating in that R&D stage, and were working on getting the equipment we need in order to scale up. https://gisbarbados.gov.bb/blog/collaborative-effort-to-harvest-sargassum-seaweed/, https://barbadostoday.bb/2021/03/28/relief-from-sargassum-seaweed-for-river-bay-residents/. It should become a non-tropical system by mid-week. Sargassum & Seaweed in the - Visit Turks and Caicos Islands Sargassum is a yellow, reddish, or brown seaweed that washes up on some beaches. Visit Turks and Caicos Islands is a registered trademark. Sargassum seaweed blob headed toward Florida, the Caribbean. Why? However, there has been an increase in catch of some species such as juvenile dolphins, lobsters and billfishes. Tel: (246) 417-4000 | Fax: (246) 425-1327, 2003 - The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.
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