Tulum, Q.R. — Tulum continues to battle the arrival of sargassum on its beaches noting a significant increase this year over others. Municipal officials say to date, more than 1,200 tons has been removed by Zofemat personnel from the coast.
On Monday during a press conference, David Buchanan, the Tulum Director of the Federal Maritime Land Zone (Zofemat), reported that so far this year 1,224 tons of sargassum has been collected.
That collection work is in addition to 349 trips to empty the sargassum containers placed throughout the Tulum Hotel Zone. He explained that they currently have 17 containers, 10 of which are located in the Hotel Zone, serving more than 25 hotels.
The collected sargassum is transported to a final disposal site lined with a geomembrane where it is left to dry. Once completely dried, it is sifted so the municipality can retain the sand and return it to the beach.
Buchanan noted that given the increase sargassum arrival this year, daily logistics are in place with the goal of keeping the beaches in the best possible condition.
Buchanan added that also includes waste removal. On Monday he reported that personnel have also conducted general beach cleaning which has resulted in over 15,000 kilos of collected garbage.
According to the Mexican Navy (Semar) who are in charge of sargassum removal with Zofemat, there has been a a significant increase in seaweed on the Tulum coast.
In January 2024, 36 tons was collected, while in January 2025 79.64 tons was removed. In January 2026 that amount skyrocketed to 235 tons. A similar trend was recorded in February.
In 2024, 50 tons of sargassum was removed from the Tulum coast. In 2025, 59.10 tons was collected and in February 2026, the figure reached 243.75 tons. By the middle of March, 173 tons had been collected compared to 93 tons in 2024 and 324 tons in 2025.
