Cozumel, Q.R. — Cozumel has begun their sargassum season a little early with its arrival due to strong winds. Municipal officials have already begun a collection of the unwanted seaweed from the west side of the island.
Strong winds from the recent passing of cold front 32 pushed the sargassum toward land, covering a section of the island’s west coast.
“Given the atypical sargassum arrival along the western part of the island due to the effects of cold front No. 32, the municipal government continues working to clear the sea wall of marine material accumulated on the coast,” the Director of the Federal Maritime Terrestrial Zone (Zofemat) Milton Zavala Aradillas reported.
Crews cleared the seawall of sargassum that arrived due to the strong winds, waves and change in sea currents on the west side of the island, he said. Workers from Zofemat, women from the temporary cleaning, maintenance, conservation and care program for sargassum, as well as from Civil Protection participated.
More than 7.5 tons was removed manually from the west coast between the San Miguel pier and the area near the diver fountain, as well as on the sidewalk of Rafael E. Melgar Avenue, he reported.
“Spots of this algae are still observed in the sea and it is estimated that it will continue to land on the beaches of Cozumel. This is due to the changes in winds and currents in the sea, which causes all the sargassum that is floating in the channel between Cozumel and Playa del Carmen to arrive atypically on our coasts,” he explained.
We will continue working together to remove the largest amounts of sargassum that arrives on the island to maintain a clean zone that is free of the sargassum.
