Sargassum returns to Dominican shores
Green micro-algae, known as Sargassum, has returned to Dominican beaches, causing concern among beach hotels. Hotel employees and fisherman have confirmed that over the weekend the seaweed arrived in large quantities in the beaches on the east and south of the country.
In 2015, Sargassum first arrived en masse to the Dominican Republic, Mexico and almost all of the Caribbean countries and then miraculously disappeared in the September, after tropical storm Erika that brought heavy rains across the country.
Other countries in the Caribbean have been suffering from the algae bloom since February this year.
According to the Center for Marine Studies in Galveston, Texas, the reason for the arrival of the seaweed in 2015 was due to a change in the sea currents attributable to climate change.
While the reality is that the Sargassum seaweed a natural part of marine and coastal processes and provides habitat for over 250 animal species, the large amount floating to eastern shores detracts from the customary sandy appearance that tourists come for. Moreso, while the seaweed is biodegradable and harmless, it gives off a strong odor when it begins to decompose. Scientists say the Caribbean had not been affected until 2011, when climate change and shifting ocean currents made blooms of the seaweed more common.
Hotels in the country are concerned as tourists mainly come for the beaches and so they have invested in floating barriers to keep the Sargassum from reaching the beaches.
Source: DR1, Almomento
May 1, 2018
Category: DR News |