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Cozumel City Council approves another 4.4 million for sargassum removal

Cozumel, Q.R. — Another 4.4 million peso is being allocated for sargassum removal on the island of Cozumel. The Municipal Government, through Zofemat, requested the additional funding for the surveillance, administration, maintenance, preservation and cleaning of the municipal Federal Maritime Terrestrial Zone.

The budget increase request was approved unanimously in a city council vote last week.

Marco Antonio Loeza Pacheco, the director of Cozumel Zofemat, explained the approval due to the ongoing sargassum care and collection strategy, and considering that currently, the arrival of seaweed to the island’s coasts has been greater than forecast for this year.

Loeza Pacheco says the city is focused on hiring more sargassum collection workers as well as the acquisition of safety equipment such as boots, caps and uniforms with sun and water protection.

The money will also be used for the acquisition of a 3.5 ton capacity cargo vehicle to make cleaning time more efficient. He provided figures saying already this year, Cozumel has collected a record 1137.09 tons of seaweed.

Taking these figures into account, a budget increase for the amount of just over 4.4 million peso was approved and which will be used during the second half of this year, which runs from July 1 to December 31.

The approved budget is in addition to the 7.4 million authorized in December of 2021 for the 2022 sargassum season.