Seaweed blob

[MikeNKim]

Anyone cruised recently and seen this seafood blob that’s floating around out there?

 

it was just on our news.   Looks quite bad in Key West and apparently goes all the way down to the ABC’s.      
 

just wondering if it is that bad or being blown out of proportion?   
 

thank you

kim

[pirate4me2]

I read an article about it the other day, they made it sound awful. It would be interesting to see from a ship! 

[roguebandit1441]

We have an all inclusive week in Playa del Carmen in May and I am planning on probably not being able to swim in the Caribbean. It is not very fun to walk through and wade through, and stinks to high heaven shortly after washing up on beach.

[EngIceDave]

It's nasty stuff. When it starts rotting....blah

 

Avoid beaches if it's there

[Guest BasicSailor]

I've seen it on the islands the worst being Costa Maya. Even clogged up a few outboards.

[PrincessPatti]

It’s called sargassum.  I have seen it up close and personal on many occasions.  

[ninjacat123]

We saw small islands of sargassum in the ocean as our Carnival Magic cruised from one port to another in January.  Most of the time the ocean was clear of sargassum.

[ontheweb]

I actually started a topic on this in Ask a Cruise Question. I posted the following link:

 

A 5,000-mile wide blob of seaweed is headed for Florida, threatening tourism | CNN

[EngIceDave]

As a Floridian, the state/counties/cities all should shush the heck up, sack up, clean it up and toss it in the dump as fast as it comes ashore..

 

Talking about it drives people away, causes concern, as this thread alone proves.

 

This is a self inflicted would to the tourism industry.

Just clean it up all night, every night (it's not turtle season) and just be quiet about it. 

[jimbo5544]

3 hours ago, EngIceDave said:

As a Floridian, the state/counties/cities all should shush the heck up, sack up, clean it up and toss it in the dump as fast as it comes ashore..

 

Talking about it drives people away, causes concern, as this thread alone proves.

 

This is a self inflicted would to the tourism industry.

Just clean it up all night, every night (it's not turtle season) and just be quiet about it. 

As another Floridian, one needs only to turn on the TV to see news reports on it.  IT is not the end of the world.

[Homosassa]

It is much ado about a naturally occurring event.

 

I guess it comes as a surprise to some that the ocean has seaweed, waves (yes, your ship can rock and roll), jellyfish, and sharks.

[EngIceDave]

1 hour ago, jimbo5544 said:

As another Floridian, one needs only to turn on the TV to see news reports on it.  IT is not the end of the world.

Which is my point, it's not the end of the world. Just clean it up and keep quiet about it to keep it out of the news.

 

Want to explain red tide?

They usually keep that kind of quiet nationally, keep it more a local story

[BlerkOne]

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/sargassum-seaweed-blob-explained-florida-scn/index.html

[Illbcruzn4life]

1 hour ago, EngIceDave said:

Which is my point, it's not the end of the world. Just clean it up and keep quiet about it to keep it out of the news.

 

Want to explain red tide?

They usually keep that kind of quiet nationally, keep it more a local story

what's a little respiratory problem among friends.

[spleenstomper]

6 minutes ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

what's a little respiratory problem among friends.

Right, some of us have asthma anyway. 
 

I read an article saying it’s a giant bloom. It’s killing sea life. 

[Illbcruzn4life]

1 minute ago, spleenstomper said:

Right, some of us have asthma anyway. 
 

I read an article saying it’s a giant bloom. It’s killing sea life. 

I guess they're saying the heck with your health, we need your tourism dollars.

[BlerkOne]

https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/animations/w_375/230318125216-desktop-seaweed-blob.mp4

 

 

[Bandman]

Last June in Cozumel the crew at paradise beach was removing it as fast as they could all day. It was coming onshore so fast that as soon as they almost had the beach clear it would start building  up again. Huge amounts coming ashore. The water was full of it. No way to get in the water as it was thick with the stuff. This isn’t your stringy grasslike seaweed. It’s more like a bush. We are expecting it again this summer on our cruise so maybe we won’t be too disappointed.  

Edited March 18, 2023 by Bandman

[Homosassa]

16 hours ago, spleenstomper said:

Right, some of us have asthma anyway. 
 

I read an article saying it’s a giant bloom. It’s killing sea life. 

Do some research and learn some facts.

 

Sargassum provides  shelter and food for many species of sea life.  It would be an ecological disaster if it was gone.

 

 

[mdin]

It was rough at Costa Maya last week. The smell can be overwhelming. It was irritating my wife's throat.

 

They try to clean it up, but it's tough to keep up with.

[Homosassa]

Seaweed on a beach is a normal part of life for anyone growing up on the coast.

[BermudaBound2014]

2 hours ago, Homosassa said:

Seaweed on a beach is a normal part of life for anyone growing up on the coast.

 

Do you agree that the amount of saragassum has more than tripled in size in the last decade?

 

I think we all know that seaweed is normal. What is abnormal is the amount. 

[ninjacat123]

1 minute ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

Do you agree that the amount of saragassum has more than tripled in size in the last decade?

 

I think we all know that seaweed is normal. What is abnormal is the amount. 

We lived in Coral Springs, FL from 2004-2007 and spent many of our weekend at Fort Lauderdale beach.  I remember the saragassum showing up every so often but it wasn't a constant.

[BlerkOne]

5 hours ago, Homosassa said:

Do some research and learn some facts.

 

Sargassum provides  shelter and food for many species of sea life.  It would be an ecological disaster if it was gone.

 

 

In moderation. This blob is something else. Fact.

[CourtneyLovesCruising]

5 hours ago, Homosassa said:

Do some research and learn some facts.

 

Sargassum provides  shelter and food for many species of sea life.  It would be an ecological disaster if it was gone.

 

 

 

You mean like this research which finds that this particular Sargassum event is creating dead zones in the ocean? 
https://www.fau.edu/newsdesk/articles/nitrogen-seaweed-study.php

 

"Using a unique historical baseline from the 1980s and comparing it to samples collected since 2010, researchers from Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute and collaborators have discovered dramatic changes in the chemistry and composition of Sargassum, transforming this vibrant living organism into a toxic “dead zone.”

Their findings, published in Nature Communications, suggest that increased nitrogen availability from natural and anthropogenic sources, including sewage, is supporting blooms of Sargassum and turning a critical nursery habitat into harmful algal blooms with catastrophic impacts on coastal ecosystems, economies, and human health. Globally, harmful algal blooms are related to increased nutrient pollution."