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Due to decrease in seaweed, sargassum sea barriers for Playa del Carmen likely to not be reinstalled

Playa del Carmen, Q.R. — Due to the significant decrease in the arrival of sargassum, federal officials are proposing to not reinstall the anti-sargassunm barriers along Playa del Carmen beaches.

Marco Antonio Loeza Pacheco, director of Zofemat, says the sea barriers were removed a month ago due to storms. Since then, the level of seaweed reaching the coast has been reduced and, according to forecasts, will remain that way.

He says that the agency is proposing to not reinstall the barriers, noting the investment of time and personnel involved for their installation.

Loeza Pacheco says their proposal is based on the noticeable decrease in sargassum in places like central Playa del Carmen combined with the anticipation of a continued drop in seaweed levels and the fact that the sargassum season is coming to an end.

“We are assessing the situation together with the navy. As we know, the sargassum season is about to end, it officially ends on September 30, from March to September,” explained the official.

So far this year, the city has collected almost 19,000 tons of sargassum and, according to the Sargasso Monitoring Network of Quintana Roo, the main beaches of Playa del Carmen have a low to moderate amount of sargassum arriving.

“We have an accumulated summer recall of almost 19,000 tons, but now, the recall is very minimal. We are currently receiving 30 to 40 tons per day, which is totally controllable, meaning it is controlled on the same day, so now, the most important thing is to see if it is worth installing the barriers,” said Loeza Pacheco.