Sargassum is a seaweed causing significant socio-environmental and economic issues in the Eastern Caribbean Islands (EC), Mexico and parts of the USA.
While in the ocean, sargassum acts as a carbon sponge and floating habitat for marine wildlife. However, because of climate change, the past four years have seen excessive blooms, creating piles of dead and decomposing seaweed that wash ashore, and which contain toxic levels of chemicals detrimental to people living in coastal communities.
I was invited to the 2nd EU-Caribbean Global Gateway Conference on Sargassum in Grenada, by the Grenadian government, to learn more about how governments are tackling this issue.
While responsibility for a nation’s health lies with national government, it is most often local governments that have to deliver on the tasks. In the Caribbean, this is no different.
Local governments across the EC basin are collaborating with local people, researchers and business to develop local responses to this global problem. Sargassum not only affects the health of coastal communities, but prevents fisherfolk from earning a living. It clogs up nets and kills fish and any other wildlife that gets tangled up in it.
It reduces tourism by making the beaches unsightly and odorous. And across the EC, it costs around $130 million to clear up – money smaller economies do not have access to.
Local solutions are focused on early spotting and clearing, and also high-tech surveillance using satellites to predict the seaweed’s direction of travel and clear it before it reaches the shores.
There was an array of ideas at the conference on how to treat the seaweed and create end-use products such as chocolate, skin cream, industrial fertiliser and energy.
Finally, we discussed funding and the investment needed to bring these things to fruition.
While these innovations are greatly needed, there is the concern that the best solution would be to slow down climate change and stop the sargassum from dying in the first place.
- See sargassum website to find out more about to find out more.
