US Edition31 million tons of supercharged seaweed is creeping toward beaches in Florida and around the Caribbean
- This year’s record-breaking sargassum bloom, estimated at 31 million tons in April 2025, stretches across 5,500 miles of ocean and affects Florida and the Caribbean coastlines.
- Rising ocean temperatures from human-caused climate change and excess nitrogen in the water have driven this excessive, ongoing bloom that has intensified since 2011.
- The brown, decomposing seaweed coats beaches and marinas from the Florida Keys to Saint Augustine, harming ecosystems, repelling tourists, and damaging fishing industries.
- Brian LaPointe said sargassum shifts from a beneficial resource to a harmful algal bloom, and rising hydrogen sulfide gas, which is toxic, poses environmental and health risks.
- Affected regions, including Quintana Roo, are installing barriers and collaborating to remove seaweed, while innovations seek to harness sargassum for biofuels and biodegradable products to restore oceans.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Record Sargasso Seaweed Bloom Threatens Tourism. Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and Florida Affected.
31 million tons of supercharged seaweed is creeping toward beaches in Florida and around the Caribbean
Sargassum hurts ecosystems and economies wherever its overgrown arms reach. And the seaweed is reaching into Florida’s waterways, coating marinas and beaches in the Miami area.
How a toxic seaweed choking Caribbean beaches could become a valuable resource
Marc Bruxelle/ShutterstockEach year, between March and October, large amounts of brown seaweed called sargassum wash up on the shores of Caribbean islands – choking beaches, damaging marine life and threatening tourism and public health. But a number of local entrepreneurs are hoping the seaweed could create an economic opportunity. From the coast of west Africa to the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, climate change is warming the temperatu…
Since 2011, the Caribbean coasts have been increasingly invaded by large, floating masses of sargassum. In the Dominican Republic, this phenomenon has generated millions in economic losses, severely impacting tourism, fishing, the energy industry, and coastal ecosystems. Despite various institutional and private efforts, the response has been, for the most part, delayed and reactive. Now, a scientific project led by Dominican biologist Francisco…
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