Playa del Carmen, Q.R. — Municipal officials have gotten a head start on the installation of anti-sargazo barriers. Playa del Carmen City Council has already started protecting a five kilometer stretch of Riviera Maya beach ahead of its arrival.
Kandy Mendoza, the PDC Secretary of Sustainable Environment and Climate Change, said the installation began near Parque Fundadores and the Constituyentes pier. The city will continue to extend the at-sea barriers toward Playa Golondrinas as a start.
Sections consisting of 15-meters each are being installed before the seaweed begins its official arrival. Mendoza says the city’s goal is to cover the entire public coastal beach strip from Playa Cisne to Punta Esmeralda.
According to Kandy Mendoza, the city cleared 30,580 tons of sargassum during 2025, the highest figure recorded in the last four years. She reported that so far in 2026, 1,288 tons has already been cleared from public beach areas.
She also noted that the barriers are being placed ahead of the official start of sargassum arrival, which is usually the month of March.
Mendoza explained that Playa del Carmen City Council approved the use of 45 million pesos from the Environmental Sanitation Fund to cover the cost of the barriers.
She said although the barriers do not completely prevent the seaweed from reaching shore, they significantly reduce the volume that does make landfall. Preventing landfall not only keeps the sand clear, but also prevents it from decomposing on land.
At the moment, there are currently 15 collection points operating where the sargassum is being disposed of by approximately 150 workers.
The workers, who clear the beaches manually, are being supported by 70 members of the Secretariat of the Navy, who collect the sargassum at-sea.
The entire coast of Quintana Roo remains clear of any significant sargassum landfall.
