Mexico's Caribbean coast hit by heavy seaweed, more expected

Environmentalists and tourism operators on Mexico's Caribbean coast are complaining about mounds of foul-smelling sargassum — a seaweed-like algae — piling up on beaches and turning turquoise waters brown

MEXICO CITY -- Environmentalists and tourism operators on Mexico’s Caribbean coast are complaining about mounds of foul-smelling sargassum — a seaweed-like algae — that are piling up on beaches and turning turquoise waters brown. Reports Tuesday said sargassum is hitting resorts like Playa del Carmen and Tulum further south on the coast, while Cancun, Cozumel and Isla Mujeres have largely been spared. But experts at the University of South Florida say sargassum was at “a historical record” in the Caribbean in May and that 2021 may see large amounts piling up on beaches, as happened in 2018. A coalition of environmental and tourism groups has circulated a petition calling on the government to do mores, writing “We are drowning in Sargazo!”