Mahahual, Q.R. — Next week, Mahahual will be the first in the state to receive anti-sargassum barriers. In a statement, Governor Mara Lezama said that on February 15, 1,400 meters of barrier will be installed off the coast of Mahahual.
“There will be 1,400 meters of barrier to help prevent the sargassum from reaching the beach,” she said. “1,100 meters of barrier will be placed in the northern part and 300 meters in the southern part,” she detailed.
Lezama says the sargassum battle has begun to face the season and keep the beaches clean as long as possible.
“The challenge brings us together. Winning the battle against a recurring enemy that affects us environmentally, economically and in the image of our tourist destinations, which is the arrival of the sargassum, is our goal,” she said.
On Saturday, Lezama reported on a manual beach clean up at Mahahual that included more than 250 people from the state government. They were distributed in groups of 20 and 30 in various areas of Mahahual to remove the washed up sargassum.
She reported that over a three-day period, more than 190 tons have arrived in the southern zone of Xcalak, Mahahual and the south of Punta Herrero.
“We cannot prevent the arrival of sargassum since it is a natural phenomenon due to climate change. What we can do is put our energies together and take the initiative” she said.
The barriers are being put into place several weeks earlier than usual with the early and ongoing arrival of sargassum. Mahahual began collecting sargassum from its beaches in January.
Days later, several Riviera Maya beaches began recording small batches of sargassum making landfall that has yet to let up.
Cancun mayor Ana Patricia Peralta reported that during the month of January, the city removed more than 71 tons of sargassum from its public beaches.
Last month, the National Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture (Inapesca) and the Interdisciplinary Center for Marine Sciences (Cicimar) reported their studies showed a lower amount of sargassum forecast for state beaches for 2023.