Collaboration is important, he said, noting that the hotel association and academia are involved. ta.queueForLoad : function(f, g){document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', f);})(function(){ta.trackEventOnPage('postLinkInline', 'impression', 'postLinks-110561712', '');}, 'log_autolink_impression');Barbados Xmas time. Your guide to Carnival across the Caribbean. Since we kicked off in 2017, we have been operating in that R&D stage, and were working on getting the equipment we need in order to scale up. The hurricane center said Bret will continue tracking to the west -- away from the islands -- and deeper into the Caribbean over the next few days. Sargassum - Barbados Forum - Tripadvisor There is NO guarantee that the west coast will not get it IF it happens - have known it in Fitts Village, Paynes Bay , and really very occasionally in Holetown, (just it is much more unlikely) - it depends how the sea current is running, which would depend on the wind - if there is a very strong southerly flowing current it could drift north up the west coast. but it is uncommon. I saw a contrast between the way that much of our food is produced in Barbados, with the focus on synthetic fertilizers and toxic chemicals. The project is still in the research phase and the researchers have converted 100kg (220lb) of sargassum to date but Allen hopes to scale it up and partner with companies and governments to tackle the issue. Don't let the seaweed put you off booking your holiday in the South or East coast if you're considering doing so. . Allen and a team of researchers from the universities of Exeter and Bath devised a process called hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL), which uses high pressure and temperature to split wet biomass into four components: a bio oil that can be upgraded to biodiesel, water-soluble organic compounds used to produce fertiliser, carbon dioxide (which the researchers say they aim to capture rather than release into the atmosphere) and char, a solid material containing all the metals found in the seaweed, which the team also plans to recover at a later stage. The blooms are at their largest in June and July, she says. I also saw that there was a rise in the number of young people with type two diabetes or obesity. Sargassum seaweed blooms in South Florida are particularly bad right now, with areas like the Florida Keys bracing for the worst in March 2023. Huge masses of foul-smelling seaweed in the Caribbean could cause The revolving ocean currents create a gyre, which holds sargassum, flotsam, and jetsam. Loss of employment has also been reported in affected tourism areas. In most cases, a lightweight utility tractor with a beach rake implement is the best equipment for removing sargassum from the beach. Looking for ALL Inclusive Barbados vacation under $1000 USD, All Inclusive/Adults Only/Smaller Resorts, Crystal Cove by Elegant Hotels - All-Inclusive, Waves Hotel & Spa by Elegant Hotels - All-Inclusive, The House by Elegant Hotels - All-Inclusive, Adults Only. When it decays, it attracts insects that can cause skin irritation, while hydrogen sulphide exposure from rotting sargassum has been linked to neurological, digestive and respiratory symptoms. CERMES has been producing a forecast bulletin called the Sargassum Subregional Outlook Bulletin which provides the region with a prediction of the magnitude of sargassum influx events. The Maritime and Blue Economy Division of the Ministry of Environment and National Beautification hires persons to collect sargassum from River Bay, St. Lucy which experience high magnitudes of sargassum inundation. The formulation of the compost is now at an ideal stage, and some of our early adopters have been knocking on our doors to try to get it. . Tropical Storm Bret has moved into the Caribbean Sea after passing through the Windward Islands overnight and is expected to weaken and dissipate over the weekend, according to the National Hurricane Center. Like other Caribbean states, Barbados uses this bulletin to assist in preparing for possible sargassum inundations. We all know that sargassum is an issue that we are all dealing with and we need many hands on deck. As a community we decided to do this to protect the planet and take care of our beaches, says Gonzalo Balderas, founder of Biomaya Initiative. In fact, one man told Barbados Goat feed, soap and biofuels wont make much of a dent in these heaps any time soon, but they are a sign of coastal resilience and of local economies adapting to turn a rotten mess into something of use, whatever the changing oceans wash up. the coastal engineers had a hard time situating the man made reef in Holetown bay on account of the currents traveling in various directions on the west coast (scroll down until you find the direction map). ta.queueForLoad : function(f, g){document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', f);})(function(){ta.trackEventOnPage('postLinkInline', 'impression', 'postLinks-113826212', '');}, 'log_autolink_impression');the Crane.I couldn't bring myself to spoil that amazing image I always have in my mind of Bottom Bay with seaweed. Here are a few tips to ensure you have a splashing good time: Check the Sargassum Status: Before you embark on your tropical adventure, keep an eye on reputable sources like the Quintana Roo Sargassum Monitoring Network for real-time updates on the seaweed situation. margin: 0.22em 0.04em 0em 0;
Last reviewed by an editor on 1 June 2023. Sargassum tides are most likely to hit the exposed eastern coasts, but some beaches, like Playa Norte on the island of Isla Mujeres in Quintana Roo, are usually free of seaweed. It stretched from one coast to the other, from the shores of West Africa to the Gulf of Mexico. The Minister also encouraged farmers and entrepreneurs to maximise the opportunity, and experiment with the use of the seaweed to produce fertiliser and other products. Sargassum seaweed | GIS A few resorts in the Turks and Caicos have such equipment, and rake the beach as conditions dictate. Sargassum is a free-floating seaweed that accumulates in the mid-Atlantic Ocean and travels west. By Chazeen Pemberton for TravelCoterie in partnership with Tripadvisor, The best places to visit in January around the world. You will start to see some in February and March/April/May it can be bad at times coming and going. Report inappropriate content 1-10 of 35 replies Sorted by 1 2 3 4 Canby Burlington, Canada Level Contributor 15,339 posts 63 reviews 78 helpful votes 1. Worst case scenario, you can take day trips to the West coast which is free from Sargassum. The report also said that considerable cloud cover could be hiding even more, but probably still below 2018 levels, the worst year to date. The country currently imports $15m (11.3m) of mutton and goat meat each year. But warming ocean temperatures and agricultural runoff have bred huge blooms of sargassum algae and killed off coral reefs that once fringed the island. Among them are abnormal ocean currents and wind patterns linked to climate change. Scientists at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill Campus are actively conducting biochemical research on the potential applications of sargassum in several sectors such as agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and bioenergy. At the same time, some regional tourism industry operators are reporting a ramping up of effort to deal with the ongoing issue, as they outlined some best practices from which other destinations can learn. Then women living in nearby villages, that date back to the Maya period, mix the processed sargassum with glycerin and honey to make soap which they sell for $2 (1.50) a bar to hotels, hospitals and shops in the area. Sargassum drifts have been recorded in the Americas by early European explorers since Columbus. According to the report, the level of sargassum arriving has increased considerably as there is six per cent more that is now visible in the Atlantic than this time last year. Most beaches in the Turks and Caicos are free of sargassum, notably the world-famous Grace Bay. Minister Forde: We Must Continue To Fight Sargassum Seaweed. The process is energy-intensive and runs on fossil fuels, says Allen, though heat from the process can be recovered and reused to improve efficiency. Three coasts on Providenciales, Long Bay Beach, Five Cays Beach, and Blue Hills Beach, can experience annoying levels of sargassum at times, yet these beaches simply dont get a large amount of visitor traffic. }
So, I decided to switch gear and just focus on developing a product out of seaweed. As Trinidads world-famous fete kicks off, a look at other thrilling Carnivals around the Caribbean. From the start, when we did some trials with peanuts, we saw freakish results in terms of the growth: the small test plot we used was getting around four times the amount of peanuts that you would normally get. more, You seem to have JavaScript disabled. The thickening mass of sargassum seaweed in the River Bay, St Lucy area is becoming a problem for nearby residents who say it has resulted in a dramatic increase in mosquitoes and flies. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Save. Noticed a large influx of the dreaded stuff over the last 72hrs even up as far as the boatyard and large Matts of it out at sea . .dropcap-intro {
A giant seaweed blob is washing up on Florida shores. What is sargassum Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism, and Japanese International Cooperation Agency. Tropical Storm Bret Expected to Dissipate Overnight The sargassum influx is now a problematic norm. There are concerns that eutrophication could be an issue in rare cases at a few specific wetland locations in the Turks and Caicos. Click the links below to download the app for Android and IOS. Shore excursion cancellations -alternative options? Occasionally, fishermen were required to navigate through sargassum which resulted damage to the engines of fishing vessels and corrosion of paint on the vessels. agree that 2011 was a tipping point for sargassum in the Atlantic, suggesting future blooms are likely to be even larger, 10 times that of the 2011 event, and 300 times greater than any other autumn in the previous 20 years, known as the floating golden rainforest, hydrogen sulphide exposure from rotting sargassum has been linked to neurological, digestive and respiratory symptoms, turning sargassum into materials from paper, Find out more about how we calculated this figure here. Its supposed to be a dream beach., Entrepreneurs are finding an increasing number of ways to turn the sargassum glut into something useful such as paper (Credit: Getty Images), While in St Catherines, a coastal community in south-east Jamaica, Daveian Morrison is using sargassum to produce animal feed. This topic has been closed to new posts due to inactivity. But both formed far to the east of where tropical systems get going at this point in the season, so hurricane watchers were speculating on that that means for the rest of the season. We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. I realized that the problem was much bigger than just me, and that we really need to do something about the way we're producing food. There have been reports of respiratory health issues arising from exposure to hydrogen sulphide from rotting Sargassum, especially amongst fishers. font-size: 3.25rem;
Embrace the Unexpected: Even if the seaweed is paying a visit, don't let it . Sargassum Monitoring , Surveillance Sargasses Sargassum seaweed covers a beach on the eastern coast of Barbados, in June 2022. There are also implications for the fisheries sector. Any submissions made on our comment section, are solely the views of the individual and not Barbados Today. In the open sea, healthy patches of sargassum can soak up carbon dioxide and serve as . Re: Sargassum 1 year ago Save Sargassum can appear at any time. Barbados Today firmly discourages any commentary or statements that are libelous, disruptive in nature or incites others to violate our Terms of Use. Additionally, he said the government was able to grant duty exemption on the importation of equipment that would be used in the cleaning up of the sargassum. Heavy equipment such as backhoes and skids steers are usually the incorrect equipment for cleaning sargassum, and can cause additional beach damage. March 10, 2023 Barbados is losing vast tracts of beachland annually due to the almost continuous influx of Sargassum Seaweed on its shores. I started to dig in deeper, and researched food and nutrition, and how it affects the body. The number one thing most likely to ruin your next Caribbean escape is sargassum. Sargassum Seaweed in 2022 and 2023 Sargassum seaweed in Playa del Carmen, Mexico on August 7, 2022 (Credit: Doctry 360) As of 4 p.m. CDT Friday, Tropical Storm Bret was located about 170 miles east-northeast of Curacao and was moving west at 21 mph. Joshua Forte and Red Diamond have been championed at several events organized by the Barbados and eastern Caribbean Blue Accelerator Lab of the UN Development Programme (UNDP). However, the tourism industry in the southern islands could be hard hit with continued mass influxes. FYI, it is totally unpredictable when and where sargassum will appear. Re: Sargassum 4 years ago Save Yes and no, depending where it floats to and the amount varies. Required fields are marked *. In Barbados, a University of the West Indies research team is distilling sargassum along with waste from a rum distillery to make methane, which can be turned into compressed natural gas to power . The huge piles of seaweed prevent turtles from nesting and ensnare dolphins and fish in the coral reefs. River Bay, Oistins, Skeetes Bay, Consett Bay are some of the coastal communities greatly affected by inundations. This is really expensive, he said. Barbados, like the rest of the Caribbean region, first experienced extraordinary volumes of sargassum within their nearshore waters and washed up on their beaches in 2011. Tropical storm warnings that had been in effect in Barbados and in St. Vincent and the Grenadines were lifted on Friday morning. 49 reviews. Mossiah said the challenge with sargassum should not only be seen as a tourism problem given the far-reaching impact it could have on economic activity. This task force was a public-private sector partnership. While it's predicted to worsen in the spring through to late . Try changing your search terms. Sargassum seaweed - Barbados Forum - Tripadvisor Forte started Red Diamond Compost, a biotech business that focuses on research, development, and the commercialization of organic and biologic soil treatment and crop protection solutions made primarily from organic environmental hazards, such as sargassum seaweed. The Frederick Smith Secondary School now has an additional security guard following the sexual assault of a female student By Emmanuel Joseph Barbados is expected to rake in some $6.8 million in revenue from packaged sugar exports to the United Law enforcement agencies scolded for not disclosing illegal activity at ports By Sheria Brathwaite Director of the Jeremy Stephen says country needs to take steps to increase population By Jenique Belgrave An economist has suggested that 3rd floor, CGI towers, Warrens, St. Michael. Cindy is expected to miss the Lesser Antilles and also weaken next week. A scientist at the university here even put out a report, which said that the microbial life here is completely decimated. Barbados declared a national emergency in June 2018 after its shorelines were engulfed by sargassum. And when the sargassum sinks to the seafloor en masse, it smothers coral and other life. Sign up and stay up to date with Barbados' FREE latest news. Other researchers, such as Elizabeth Johns of the USs National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, agree that 2011 was a tipping point for sargassum in the Atlantic, suggesting future blooms are likely to be even larger. the link below shows a map of how the sea current runs north to south along the northern part of the west coast - and then around or just south of the Holetown Bellairs area - it turns due westward -- while the current across the south coast runs east to west -goes around Needhams point and start to run . ta.queueForLoad : function(f, g){document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', f);})(function(){ta.trackEventOnPage('postLinkInline', 'impression', 'postLinks-110567046', '');}, 'log_autolink_impression');Barbados is so easy to travel around. npr. As is often the case, having the right tool for the job greatly increases productivity. When adrift at sea, sargassum can serve as a habitat, providing food and protection for animals such as fish, mammals, crabs and marine birds, according to the Sargassum Information Hub, a joint . Most beaches in the Turks and Caicos are free of sargassum. "I've seen things like sargassum seaweed clogging up the Caribbean," adds Harris. .dropcap-letter {
- at which time it turns then turns directly West (this is south of Holetown area) - but coming down from the north -- the current normally flows southerly, and then turns west also (. Where to stay, eat, and play to support Black-owned businesses on the Caribbean island. The tropical Atlantic Ocean was busy for this point in June on Friday with two tropical storms. Sargassum can collect on windward coasts in the Turks and Caicos, such as on much of South Caicos, Grand Turk, the eastern side of North Caicos, and the Ambergris Cays. The long-range track for Cindy shows it weakening to a depression and then a non-tropical system by Wednesday, when it could be somewhere between the Bahamas and Bermuda. While the 2018 event was a record, sargassum blooms have been a nuisance in the Atlantic for some years, where they harm coastal biodiversity, fisheries and the tourism industry in the Caribbean and Mexico. Far to the east of Bret is the newest Atlantic tropical system, Tropical Storm Cindy. The Atlantic hurricane season began June 1 and ends Nov. 30. Belize: CRFM-JICA. http://www.cavehill.uwi.edu. Tropical Storm Bret is forecast to weaken and dissipate over the weekend in the Caribbean.