Mahahual, Q.R. — Navy officials in Mahahual have received sargassum seaweed barriers that will be placed in the sea to protect town beaches.
The delivery of the barrier was a coordinated effort by the City Council of Othón P Blanco and both state and federal governments when the request was made after a Costa Maya working tour by the Municipal President of Othón P. Blanco, Otoniel Segovia Martínez.
Segovia Martínez says la Secretaria de Marina has received 560 linear meters of sargassum seaweed barriers that will be place in the sea by them and used to protect the beaches of Othón P. Blanco against the arrival of sargassum.
The Directora de Ecología y Medio Ambiente, Alondra Martínez Flores, noted that next month, an additional barrier of approximately the same linear length will arrive to be placed along the coast of Mahahual and Xcalak.
In the meantime, Martínez Flores says manual beach cleanings will continue as per instructions by the municipal president Otoniel Segovia Martínez, noting that also next month, the arrival of additional tools such as wheelbarrows, are also expected along with the sea barriers.
At the moment, navy personnel are conducting studies on currents to learn where the containment barriers should be placed so that they fulfill the function of retaining the sargassum in the sea.
He says “we hope that in November, we have all the material available to be placed in early December for the benefit of the inhabitants of the Othón P. Blanco beach area,” adding that three tractors have already arrived at the Secretaria de Marina en Mahahual, which will be used with trailers or sweepers, which are also on their way, to clean the coast in Mahahual.
Later on, navy personnel will support smaller vessels that will be delivered as a loan to the municipality of Othón P. Blanco, to pick up sargassum from in the sea on the other side of the barrier.
Mahahual, along with much of the Costa Maya region, was hardest hit this year during the 2019 sargassum season.
