Puerto Morelos, Q.R. — Puerto Morelos has begun the first stage of anti-sargassum barriers due to its ongoing arrival. On Thursday, Zofemat personnel began the placements of the anchor lines on the sea bed off the coast of the town of Puerto Morelos.
The anchor lines are what will hold the buoys in place for the anti-sargassum barriers.
Gerardo Rosas García, the Director of Puerto Morelos Zofemat (Federal Maritime Terrestrial Zone) says they began the installation as part of the actions to reduce the impact of sargassum on the coast of Puerto Morelos.
Garcia says the barriers are being installed by Zofemat and the Secretary of Ecology and Environment (SEMA) of the State government and the Secretary of the Navy (Semar), who on Thursday, started with the placement of anchor lines and buoys for the barriers.
“Before the anticipated arrival of sargassum, we are holding meetings with the areas of the federal and state governments in charge of dealing with the fight against sargassum and we have agreed to place the barriers to contain, as much as possible, the arrival of the macroalgae to the beaches,” he explained.
The official said that they will install 1.9 kilometers of barrier, which will serve public beaches from The Fives Hotel to the fiscal pier, a stretch that includes beaches such as Ventana al Mar, Ojo de Agua, Playa Sol, Pelícanos, Cayuse, Arrecife and that of the Technical High School No. 7, in which constant monitoring of the arrival of sargassum is maintained.
The director of Municipal Public Services, Leonel Salazar Trejo, indicated that very early each day, the beach cleaning brigades sweep and remove the macroalgae with the sweeper and tractor to more quickly remove it from the areas where it ends up, and thus, avoid its decomposition in the sand.
“Currently there is a moderate landing of sargassum on our beaches although high peaks are observed. We will intensify the cleaning work on our beaches so that both tourists and residents can enjoy them,” he said.
Salazar indicated that during the month of February, between 25 and 30 tons are being collected on average per day.
Mahahual in the south, has also begun with the installation of anti-sargassum barriers due to the early and ongoing arrival. While Cozumel has not announced the installation of barriers, they did report collecting 7 tons already this year.
Cancun, on the other hand, reported collecting 71 tons of sargassum from its public beaches during the month of January. Cancun mayor Ana Patricia Peralta, said that thanks to city workers and Zofemat efforts, the sargassum is being removed from city beaches on a daily basis.
