Akumal, Q.R. — A group of volunteers cleared the Akumal Bay beach Thursday of seaweed. While the Bay has not seen a lot of sargassum on its beaches, residents of Akumal wanted to clear what has arrived for visual purposes.
The group consisted of local fishermen, tourist service providers and Federal Maritime Terrestrial Zone (Zofemat) personnel, who spent the day removing the sargassum.
They met early Thursday morning to start with the remove of accumulated sargassum with the goal of keeping the beaches clean and suitable for tourism.
Pío Jiménez, a nautical entrepreneur in Akumal, said their cleaning efforts was not only in response to the visual and environmental impact of the sargassum, but also a demonstration of shared responsibility among all stakeholders who depend on the health of the coastal ecosystem.
“While sargassum directly affects our economic activities, it also damages the reefs and marine life. Therefore rather than waiting for the authorities to resolve everything, we decided to organize and join forces,” Jiménez said.
He said that cleanup efforts will continue in coming days and that a permanent containment and collection strategy is already underway to mitigate the effects of sargassum without altering local ecosystems.
Akumal joins other communities in the municipality of Tulum that have undertaken their own efforts to address the sargassum.
Tulum, unlike other municipalities, has been spared from a mass arrival on its beaches. Areas in Mahahual and Xcalak have been inundated on a regular basis with sargassum as has some beaches in Playa del Carmen.
Last week, Playa del Carmen authorities reported clearing between 150 and 200 tons of seaweed a day from some of the city’s beach areas. Mahahual has experienced similar figures with around 100 tons of collected sargassum during a day-long beach clean.
