Riviera Maya, Q.R. — Interest in harvesting the unwanted sargassum off the Cancun, Riviera Maya coast has increased. Local government officials say this year, harvesting permit requests for the seaweed have increased.
The increased interest has come from locals requesting the Development Fishing Permit granted by the National Aquaculture and Fisheries Commission (Conapesca).
Mario Javier Martín Castillo, who heads the Riviera Maya region for the Comisión Nacional de Acuacultura y Pesca (Conapesca), said interest has grown since the federal government made the legal change last year.
In August of 2025, the Government of Mexico categorized sargassum as a fishery product. With a permit, locals are now able to collect the sargassum while it is still alive to be used in commercial production.
With the natural annual increase in sargassum volume, several companies have been created in the state to turn the seaweed into commercial products.
According to Martín Castillo, the seaweed is currently used to produce commercial items including animal feed supplements, fertilizers, biofuels, bioplastics, bioremediators, and wastewater treatment agents.
“Use of the sargassum is already good. There are already several products using sargassum designed for this purpose,” he said adding that the seaweed “is here to stay”.
He said as a government authority, they continue to look for ways to use the sargassum.
