Riviera Maya, Q.R. — “Sargassum control is a challenge. The objective is to keep the beaches clean and continue with the reactivation of the tourism sector and employment,” said Governor Carlos Joaquín during a recent strategy meeting with the Secretary of the Navy.
The meeting was held not only to deal with the mass arrivals, but also to address the issue of the transformation and use of the sargassum. Senator Beatriz Paredes recognized Governor Carlos Joaquín’s efforts to find resolutions and, after underlining that this complex problem is highly linked to climate change and scientific research, proposed the installation of two working groups that would address its transformation and use.
These would be the Investigation Board and the Operative Board, the latter of which, would attend to issues such as barrier repair and other technical issues.
The strategy for the management and control of sargassum is in coordination with the federal, state and municipal governments, as well as the private sector and includes three blocks.
The first block includes the beach front in charge of the municipalities for the collection of sargassum. Two, the coastal or shallow water area that is covered with barriers and sargasso boats by the Navy and the third, through the sargassum vessels Natans and Zapoteco that the Navy operates in Quintana Roo waters.
During the meeting, Admiral Luis Javier Robinson Portillo, Chief of General Staff of the Mexican Navy said that during the past three years they have had the sargassum care strategy, the Navy has collected 121,056 tons in the state, of which 85,495 tons was collected in 2019, 19,054 during the 2020 season and so far this year, 16,506 tons.
The arrival of the sargassum is anticipated to persist well into the month of December.
