Sargasso again: the smelly algae and enemies of tourism fill the Caribbean

09/03/2021 16:00

• Clarín.com

• World

Updated 09/03/2021 16:00

Among the unpleasant things that can ruin a beach day are the sargassum mats that accumulate on some beaches.

These mats have serious repercussions on tourism, fishing and

the health

of citizens.

"The

sargassum is an algae

that, under the effects of global warming and the spills of fertilizers from intensive agriculture, proliferates more and more in our seas and oceans.

This year is the year with the highest sargassum since 2018

”, explains Anna Salsac Jiménez, in charge of scientific communications at CLS.

CLS is a global company that proposes space solutions to understand, protect the planet and manage its resources in a lasting way ".

Sargasso at Delfines beach, in Cancun.

Photo: Xinhua

“Sargassum mats have serious repercussions on tourism, fishing and the health of citizens.

Coastal regions deeply affected by mass strandings have seen the annual cost of cleaning beaches skyrocket, "he says.

And he adds: "The restoration of the Caribbean beaches has been estimated at the incredible figure of 120 million dollars a year. More and more fishermen are immobilized on the dock, whose

propellers get entangled

in these algae that

infest the fishing ports.

The health of citizens is also threatened. The fumes from decomposing Sargasso algae release gases that are a source of poisoning. "

Worrying situation in the Caribbean

“We are currently in the

middle of the stranding season.

Our experts in Earth observation and space oceanography have put the affected areas under high-level satellite surveillance. "

Large saturation of sargassum on a beach in Miami Beach.

Photo: EFE

“The situation

is worrying.

In fact, we have the same alert level as in 2018, a year in which the sargassum beds were massive and had caused impressive strandings, "says Marion Sutton, oceanographer at CLS, a subsidiary of the space agency. French.

"As you can see in one of the images from our sargassum detection and forecasting software,

the Caribbean is surrounded

and beds of sargassum are ubiquitous. They can extend for several tens of kilometers."

This result is obtained “thanks to the development of an operational capacity to detect and forecast sargasso drift, we provide strategic information to local actors from space: maps of the presence of algae and drift forecast based on the use of radar and optical satellite sensors, ”adds Sutton.

Great sargassum saturation in Miami Beach.

Photo: EFE

"Surveillance, several hundred kilometers up, can cover the general condition

of sargassum carpets

throughout the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico and the African coast."

Information within everyone's reach

"By typing in any search engine

Samtool and Sargazo

, local actors, citizens and tourists who need a postcard destination can now consult the evolution of these banks online," says Anna Salsac Jiménez, head of scientific communications at CLS.

"This reliable satellite solution was developed with the support of the European Space Agency and chosen by Météo-France, the meteorological forecasting institute in 2019 on behalf of the French government, whose confidence in this solution was renewed this year," concludes Salsac Jiménez.

By Silvia Celi, RFI

ap

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