The alarm bells sounded again in 2025. The amount of sargassum seen in the Caribbean region is worrying not only government authorities. Still, it is also causing sleepless nights for residents of coastal areas, small-scale fishermen, power generators, tourism entrepreneurs and investors, merchants, and anyone who interacts with the marine world in one way or another.
According to biological experts, nearly six million tons of sargassum have already reached the Dominican coast, but the worst is yet to come.
According to the “Sargassum Trajectory Forecast,” conducted from June 5 to 10 of this year by the National Authority for Maritime Affairs (ANAMAR), the largest flows of these algae have been concentrated on the southern coasts between Azua and Pedernales.
The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources reports that it is providing ongoing support to the country’s coastal areas to mitigate the impact of sargassum, with the most notable monitoring areas being Boca Chica and Barahona.
Although President Abinader established the Sargassum Fight Cabinet by decree in August 2023, with the mandate to coordinate the implementation of public policies aimed at mitigating the effects of this floating macroalgae on the country’s beaches and coasts, the actions have been insufficient considering the magnitude of the problem.
In April 2024, the Cabinet released the National Contingency Plan for the Management of Sargassum Upwellings, but its implementation remains slow. A document shared by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Mimarena), the entity that heads the Cabinet along with the Ministry of Tourism, reports that, together with the European Union and other international partners, a proposal to implement the National Comprehensive Sargassum Management Plan is being validated and implemented.
The document states that this seeks to strengthen the regulatory framework for the management, disposal, and use of sargassum, as well as improve the Monitoring and Early Warning System to provide timely and consolidated information for decision-making.
Among the actions that have been taken are the granting of 15 permits for the placement of sargassum retention barriers on the beaches of Bávaro, El Cortesito, Uvero Alto, and Cabeza de Toro, the authorization of 10 requests for sargassum collection on the beaches of Bávaro, and a sargassum solution project “Fisheries Associated with Sargassum Deposits or Rafts for Fish Aggregations (DASP), proposed by the Center for Marine Biology Research (CIBIMA), Autonomous University of Santo Domingo.”
Another initiative is the creation of a database of information on sargassum harvesting projects and the conversion of sargassum into profits. This database has identified 24 projects seeking scientific information and the valorization of sargassum, with public and private investment and international cooperation in various areas.
2015
Since 2015, seaweed, or sargassum, has been affecting beaches and coastal ecosystems in various Caribbean countries. During his recent participation in the Third United Nations Conference on the Oceans, Environment Minister Paíno Henríquez stated that more than RD$100 million has been invested in sargassum recovery initiatives, in line with the concept of a circular economy.
2024
Despite being one of the years with the lowest impact, more than 37.5 million tons of floating sargassum reached the Caribbean last year, with three million tons of it reaching Dominican shores.