Unusual amount of seaweed washing ashore

Jun 10, 2015 News

In recent weeks, the coastlands have seen a significant amount of sargassum seaweed washing ashore. This was evident in the section near the Marriott Hotel about two weeks ago, before the tide took the weeds further up the

Environmentalist, Annette Arjoon-Martins, shows the unusually high level of the sargassum seaweed at the Kitty seawall.

East Coast of Demerara.
According to Horst Vogel, Ph.D., Head of Programme (PGL), Caribbean Aqua-Terrestrial Solutions (CATS), it is believed that the recent massive influxes are related to Sargassum blooms occurring in the Atlantic Ocean, East of Brazil, and are not associated with the name-giving Sargasso Sea. Some scientists link them to higher than normal temperatures and low winds due to climate change, both of which influence ocean currents.
Local environmentalist, Annette Arjoon-Martins, is reportedly monitoring the situation.
She said that the Global Program of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land Based Activities (GPA) in Nairobi, Kenya, disclosed that they are in touch with the University of Southern Mississippi after having been approached by the Abidjan Convention Secretariat about the same Sargassum problem in West Africa.
According to Arjoon-Martins, a joint response to address the issue in both the Caribbean and West Africa is being considered. In both regions, Sargassum began hitting beaches in unprecedented amounts in 2011. The weeds have been causing problems with the nets of local fishermen.