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Mexico’s President Unveils Plan to Fight Seaweed That Is Choking Beaches
The New York Times • • world
Key Points:
- Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced a $115 million initiative to tackle a record-breaking influx of sargassum seaweed affecting the Caribbean coast's tourism industry.
- The plan includes deploying two large ships capable of collecting over three tons of seaweed per minute and installing more than 30 miles of containment barriers by the Navy to prevent seaweed from reaching shore.
- Hundreds of workers from the military, hotels, and local governments will use heavy machinery and manual labor to remove seaweed that bypasses barriers.
- This year, Quintana Roo's coast is experiencing up to 9,000 tons of sargassum daily, a fourfold increase from last year and 27 times the historical average, severely impacting popular tourist destinations like Cancún and Tulum.
- The seaweed crisis threatens Mexico’s economy, as tourism contributes nearly 9 percent of GDP, with visitors altering plans due to the seaweed problem.
