Anyone seeing any sargassum on Sea Days?

[gonole1972]

Wondering if the ships are traveling through areas of sargassum in the Caribbean?  sargassum

[A&L_Ont]

I have seen it from the balcony, currently sailing

back to MIA from Costa Maya. 

[monorail81]

I’ve been seeing it on our seas days for years - not just pockets of it, but miles and miles of it. I live in a beach community and it's been coming ashore for years. Not sure why this year it’s such a big deal. 

[gonole1972]

I'm thinking the same thing living here on the West Coast of Florida.

[CruisinNole]

We also live on the west coast of Florida but local weather forecasters say that it should be more of a problem for the east coast. Hope we don't get it since we're already dealing with Red Tide.

[pstone1]

There are always floating mats of sargassum in the Caribbean Sea.  It is a natural occurrence!  Offshore fishing boats often troll around these as large fish hide under these floating mats.  FYI - the Sargasso Sea is located out in the Atlantic Ocean east of Florida.

[lkg276]

Just think about all the dolphin and cobia hiding under it..........great fishing!!

[PhoenixCruiser]

I read that it smells horrible. 

[PhoenixCruiser]

On 3/18/2023 at 2:04 PM, pstone1 said:

There are always floating mats of sargassum in the Caribbean Sea.  It is a natural occurrence!  Offshore fishing boats often troll around these as large fish hide under these floating mats.  FYI - the Sargasso Sea is located out in the Atlantic Ocean east of Florida.

Have you checked the size of this one? 

 

Karma 

[scatmanjack]

We saw some everyday from our balcony sailing from Galveston to Costa Maya and Cozumel last week...

 

[Eriksgarden]

We saw some sailing from Florida to Aruba...Not terrible.

[orville99]

We have seen it on every cruise we have sailed in the Atlantic since 1981 - 100+ cruises and 100% sightings. There’s a reason that it has been called the Sargasso Sea for more than 500 years.

[crewsweeper]

18 hours ago, PhoenixCruiser said:

I read that it smells horrible. 

Yes, once it's on shore for several days.   It's a boon for marine life and fertilizer manufacturers and farmers.  Just not what you want to trudge in while at the beach.

[Sigyn]

I saw some of it sailing in the Caribbean in December over the holidays. Didn't think anything about it. It was just seaweed.

[orville99]

19 hours ago, crewsweeper said:

Yes, once it's on shore for several days.   It's a boon for marine life and fertilizer manufacturers and farmers.  Just not what you want to trudge in while at the beach.

And is currently the subject of several research projects on using sargassum as a biofuel.

[crewsweeper]

10 minutes ago, orville99 said:

And is currently the subject of several research projects on using sargassum as a biofuel.

Well, that could make the loggers and farmers in Brazil happy.  "See, our waste creates fuel for you!!😁 

[bajathree]

On 3/18/2023 at 10:28 AM, gonole1972 said:

Wondering if the ships are traveling through areas of sargassum in the Caribbean?  sargassum

Saw plenty last week 8 night southern Caribbean. there is currently a 5000 mile long mass heading this way.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/a-5000-mile-long-mass-of-seaweed-is-coming-to-shore-heres-what-will-happen

 

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

Edited March 21, 2023 by bajathree

[cruiselvr04]

Yes we have.  However nothing anywhere near as large as what is coming.  I’m kind of glad we won’t be in the Caribbean this summer and hoping it’s gone by October.  The smell on the beaches is pretty bad and you sure don’t want to get into the water with it.  
 

If it’s a mass could it interfere with the big ships?  In other words will they have to go around it?  Will the masses of it interfere with the big propellers?  

[TheBucketLister]

2 minutes ago, cruiselvr04 said:

If it’s a mass could it interfere with the big ships?  In other words will they have to go around it?  Will the masses of it interfere with the big propellers?  

Typically it is more wide than deep.  So I think most of the propellers are far enough below the water line to not be affected.

[Ret MP]

4 hours ago, orville99 said:

And is currently the subject of several research projects on using sargassum as a biofuel.

Yep, I read an article just about 2 or 3 days ago that stated that they have developed a way of converting the stuff into biofuel at an economical rate. In other words, it doesn't take more energy to produce it than what it can produce, like so many other alternatives.  Sargassum and algae may be the fuel of the future LOL.

[TheBucketLister]

21 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

Yep, I read an article just about 2 or 3 days ago that stated that they have developed a way of converting the stuff into biofuel at an economical rate. In other words, it doesn't take more energy to produce it than what it can produce, like so many other alternatives.  Sargassum and algae may be the fuel of the future LOL.

That would be nice if that ever came to fruition on a large scale.  However I wonder if it would be carbon neutral if they were to harvest it out in ocean, versus waiting for it to wash up on shore.  Ideally not waiting for it to wash up on shore would get rid of the negative externalities of it sitting on our beaches.

Edited March 21, 2023 by TheBucketLister

[Ret MP]

4 minutes ago, TheBucketLister said:

That would be nice if that ever came to fruition on a large scale.  However I wonder if it would be carbon neutral if they were to harvest it out in ocean, versus waiting for it to wash up on shore.  Ideally not waiting for it to wash up on shore would get rid of the negative externalities of it sitting on our beaches.

Yep, exactly!  Defining a safe amount of harvesting amount is a challenge, for sure.  Sargassum is a very important part of the ecosystem.  And as much as there SEEMS to be an overabundance of it, I really don't think it is a viable alternative to anything.  Hence, my hinting to being a tongue-in-cheek statement.  But, as I always say, "ALL THE ABOVE", if it adds to the pool of resources, let's do it, in a responsible way.  But, when have we humans been responsible?  

[Liljo22]

On 3/18/2023 at 10:21 AM, monorail81 said:

I’ve been seeing it on our seas days for years - not just pockets of it, but miles and miles of it. I live in a beach community and it's been coming ashore for years. Not sure why this year it’s such a big deal. 

But how much is coming ashore?  I was in Cancun twice last year and its a major problem.  You can't swim because it is covering the whole swimmable area.  What makes it onshore smells of rotting fish as it dries.  The resorts try to clear it off the beach but it takes tractors and dump trucks.  I am betting it has not been like that in your community.  Once it starts to get like that on the beaches of Florida, its going to be a major problem.  

 

I skipped Mexico this year and decided to go to Hawaii instead because I don't want to deal with it again this summer.  

[Ret MP]

My OPINION.  This whole thing is more media hype than an actual BIG issue.  An inconvenience at times?  Yes, for sure.  The fishermen, recreational and professional, will love it.  The resort maintenance workers will love it (job security), and I'll love it because it will keep some of the masses away from my favorite beaches.  

[At Sea At Peace]

Its a click bait news headline this year.  Of course.

 

It's been happening forever, more noticeable since 2010, because 'it is a headline.  It implies a certain narrative re: climate.  Although it is more consequential to the Caribbean islands, it also impacts Florida coasts, and currently anything Florida that is negative will get front page status (sargassum seaweed, pythons, spring break, etc.).  😉 

 

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/07/great-atlantic-sargassum-belt-here-stay/593290/

 

"The Caribbean would usually experience a few small mats of sargassum washing ashore in a given year, until 2011, when the seaweed first began arriving in unexpectedly large waves. Similar pileups have occurred almost every year since; 2015 and 2018 saw especially bad blooms."

 

Now, no one has the sargassum levels, extended aerials and satellite imaging for the past 200 years, but they are sure this is all recent phenomenon.  🤣

 

It does not SMELL until it is on shore (i.e., it does not smell at sea for the cruisers concerned) ~

 

"In the North Atlantic, sargassum is an important habitat for marine life, but after 48 hours on shore the seaweed starts to emit toxins like hydrogen sulphide which, in low amounts, smell like rotten eggs."

 

We have it annually in south Florida on the East Coast.  In the past, the beaches were cleaned daily mechanically.  NOW,  the 'turtles' have a calendar and around March 1 the beaches can't be cleaned in the same fashion.  There are no turtles yet at our beach, but March 1 is the date the regulations change.  You know, the 'turtles' have a calendar.  🤪

 

All is good though.  Here in FLL, we harvest the seaweed from the beaches, compost and dry rot through soil mix and re-use to fertilize the dunes and waterfront areas, n.a.t.u.r.a.l.l.y.  It may be temporarily unsightly, temporarily smelly etc. but it is eco-friendly to fish, other wildlife on the shore and to plants and trees in the dunes and beachfronts.