Riviera Maya, Q.R. — Beaches around Cancun and Riviera Maya remain clear of sargassum despite its early arrival. Late last week, several beaches between Isla Mujeres and Mahahual were found covered in seaweed after a bout of strong winds.
After more than two days of removal, state beaches have remained free of seaweed.
According to Arturo Quintero, the Director of Pozos y Limpieza de Playas in Cancun, approximately four tons was collected between Playa del Niño and Playa Perla, a volume, he says, they consider minimal.
To date, the sargassum has not returned. He says the city of Cancun currently has a permanent beach cleaning brigade of 90 workers distributed across seven public beaches.
While more inclement weather is in the forecast, he says the city remains on alert in the event more out-of-season sargassum arrives.
The unexpected arrival of seaweed last week kept beach cleaning brigades busy for around two days after strong winds pushed tons of sargassum ashore.
Since then, Tulum Mayor Diego Castañón Trejo met with municipal businesses to discuss a strategy in the event of additional incoming sargassum.
“I met with hotel owners and business owners from Tulum and the Riviera Maya to coordinate a joint strategy to address the atypical arrival of sargassum seaweed,” he said Tuesday.
“This phenomenon directly impacts our economy, tourism, and the livelihoods of thousands of families. That’s why we are developing a serious and effective plan between the government and the private sector, learning from our experiences and improving our actions.
“Protecting our beaches is not just an environmental task; it’s a shared responsibility for the present and future of Tulum. We will continue working together, with vision and results.”
Playa del Carmen Zofemat (Zona Federal Marítimo Terrestre) Director Irving Madrigal said around 400 tons of sargassum was removed after the winds pushed it onto the beach.
He said the most affected areas were Mamitas, Fundadores and Playa 72, which is where brigades focused on the removal of the accumulation of seaweed that washed ashore.
Madrigal said that since the winds have shifted, sargassum has stopped arriving and the city’s beaches remain clear.
The seaweed also hit areas of Isla Mujeres with authorities reporting the removal of over 220 tons. Dayana Pérez Medina, who heads Zofemat (the Federal Maritime Terrestrial Zone) of Isla Mujeres, said they were also affected by the atypical arrival of the seaweed.
She said around 220 tons of sargassum was reported January 7 in the northern part of the island area of Isla Mujeres. She reported that the washed up sargassum was cleared away by staff who arrived at 5:00 a.m. and had it removed within a few hours.
“With a quick response and coordinated work, we removed all the sargassum in a few hours so that Playa Norte, a multi-award-winning beach considered one of the best in the world, retains its unparalleled beauty,” she said.
The unusual landing of sargassum has put authorities on early alert for 2026. Commander Marco Muñoz Hernández of the Navy of Mexico, who are in charge of the monitoring and at-sea collection of sargassum, says they intend to add another 500 to 600 meters of anti-sargassum barriers off the coast for this year.
“We are addressing this atypical influx with atypical actions. Since Friday, in coordination with the municipal and state governments, we established an emergency cleanup operation on the beaches while we finished deploying the barriers that were under maintenance.
“The same length of barriers will be reinstalled for the time being, although the intention is to extend them another 500 to 600 meters further south.”
He said they have started the phase of installing the sea bed anchors that will keep the barriers in place.
Esteban Amaro Mauricio, the Director of the Quintana Roo Sargassum Monitoring Network, says while the recent landing is atypical, it cannot be considered early since climate change is continually altering these types of phenomena.
He also noted that the recent arrival of seaweed along the coast coincided with reports from the University of Florida who detected seven million tons of sargassum moving from Africa toward the Gulf of Mexico.
Riviera Maya News serving Quintana Roo Mexico since 2014
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