Sargassum invades and damages beaches from Mahahual and Playa del Carmen to Cancun and Tulum

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Tourism service providers fear that the sargazo will be as serious as in 2019.

Along the 250 kilometers of coastline of Quintana Roo, sargassum invades and damages beaches from Mahahual and Playa del Carmen to Cancun and Tulum.

At the moment, at least 25 beaches are affected by the arrival of the macroalgae, which has resulted in millions of dollars in economic losses for tourism service providers affected by the natural phenomenon. 

Arribo masivo de sargazo cubre costas de Quintana Roo

second landing of sargassum and in high quantities was registered again on the shores of Playa del Carmen. Tourism service providers urgently called for strong actions.

This time the arrival of the alga was excessive. Sargassum “mountains” almost two meters high were observed in El Recodo beach, the most affected; Although, according to reports, other sandy areas registered the same situation, such as Caribe, in the vicinity of the maritime terminal of Playa del Carmen and Punta Esmeralda, north of the city.

According to workers, on Friday morning the beaches of the city center still shone with their sandy areas free of algae; However, during the afternoon of that same day, sargassum gradually began to arrive and, until Saturday morning, there were high amounts of sargassum.

José Gómez Burgos, secretary of the Caribbean Sea tourist cooperative, fears that there is a situation similar to what happened in 2019 when sargassum arrived in such quantity that the destination became media on that occasion.

“The sargassum continues to arrive, despite the efforts to remove it with a barrier, it does not comply with the height and the sargassum passes,” said Gómez Burgos, who added that the arrival of the algae is due to the southeast winds that are registered in the region.

The type of algae that have begun to arrive is golden in color, the usual one that has commonly landed in the coastal area. Although there is a barrier extended from dock to dock, it has not been strong enough to stop the sargassum; even, according to fishermen, a boat crossed it in its upper part without difficulty.

During yesterday morning, at El Recodo beach, an approximate crew of 30 people was observed collecting the seaweed, with tools, heavy machinery, and a dump truck.

Source: sipse.com, ejecentral.com.mx

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