Puerto Morelos, Q.R. — Work has begun with the installation of anti-sargassum barrier placement in Puerto Morelos. Governor Mara Lezama Espinosa, Admiral Juan José Bernal Méndez and Mayor Blanca Merari Tziu Muñoz started the project Friday.
While barriers will be placed around the state, officials started their placement in Puerto Morelos. Mara Lezama also announced the creation of the Comprehensive Center for Sanitation and Circular Economy of Sargassum, which will convert liabilities into assets.
She says in addition to protecting beaches, the economy and the thousands of families that depend on tourism, the sargassum will be used as an economic resource instead of seeing it only as a problem.
“Every year we face this challenge which is why in Quintana Roo, we are taking concrete actions to protect our beaches, our economy and the thousands of families that depend on tourism, which are the main actions of the New Agreement for Well-being and Development,” she said.
Lezama says the sargassum forecast for the 2025 season is more intense than last year.
“Projections indicate that this year we will face an even more intense season,” warned the Governor. For this reason, she said the state is reinforcing its strategy with beach cleaning and barriers.
According to Lezama, 368 people are currently working daily to remove sargassum that lands along public beach areas. She also noted that 9,200 linear meters of anti-sargassum containment barriers will be installed.
That installation was started Friday off the coast of Puerto Morelos and will eventually be expanded to other needed areas along the coast.
Lezama explained that the state is turning the sargassum, an environmental liability, into economic assets. She indicated that currently, the annual cost of dealing with sargassum represents 11 percent of the local GDP which is around $2 billion dollars.
The new Comprehensive Center for Sanitation and Circular Economy of Sargassum project will allow sargassum to be transformed into an opportunity, promoting new sustainable industries, generating jobs and reducing its environmental impact, she said.
“We know that sargassum is a global challenge but in Quintana Roo, we are acting with a vision for the future. Thank you to all those who work every day on this task. Let us continue to move forward together, taking care of our state and building a more sustainable future,” she said.
