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Puerto Morelos installs sargassum sea barrier, beach sweeper

Puerto Morelos, Q.R. — As the region heads into one of its busiest vacation periods, beach areas of Puerto Morelos will have 1,100 linear meters of marine barriers installed.

In a press release, the government of Puerto Morelos reports the placement of 1,100 linear meters of new marine barriers starting at Adolfo López Mateos Street to protect the beach from sargassum.

“We are placing a new type of barrier that is 10 centimeters higher, which will ensure that the macro algae overflow in our coastal strip is minimized. With these, we will have covered almost two kilometers of public beaches,” said mayor Laura Fernández.

She explained that in Puerto Morelos, the algae is collected at sea with barges and along the beaches, then taken to land for drying and compaction where they look for a final destination, since the seaweed has been shown to have different uses.

“The sargassum book is not yet written, but with the actions we have undertaken as a city council, in collaboration with the private initiative, scientists, academics and citizens in general, under the guidelines of the Puerto Morelos Protocol, and with the support of the Federation and the Government of the State, we contribute so that this book continues writing day by day,” she added.

Aside from new in-sea barriers, the town also has a new sargassum beach sweeper that favors the care of the sand. She says when it passes and collects the macro algae, it activates a type of screening that returns the sand to the beach.

“We are saying that this device immediately returns up to 95 percent of the sand that could be collected with the sargassum. We will continue to protect our main asset as a world-class tourist destination, which is the beaches, in order to attract more tourism throughout the year,” she said.

Luis Cardeña Peña, Project Director of the municipality, said that the machine has a rear bucket which is the seaweed collector with a capacity of 2.5 cubic meters and is able to deposit directly into the transport truck.

“This machine operates every day and is very helpful in beach cleaning activities,” said the municipal official.