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The Inquiry: What’s going on with sargassum seaweed?

What’s going on with sargassum seaweed?

28/12/2023 GMT

BBC World Service - The Inquiry, What’s going on with sargassum seaweed?

Why is sargassum seaweed causing so much controversy?

Sargassum seaweed acts as an offshore haven for marine life, but what impact is it having onshore?

Sargassum seaweed was recorded as far back as the 15th century when Christopher Columbus wrote in his expedition diaries about miles and miles and miles of dense seaweed as he crossed the Atlantic Ocean.  
 
In 2011, a great mass of this seaweed emerged, stretching from West Africa to the Gulf of Mexico, a phenomenon known as the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt. Since then it’s been washing up on coastlines in massive amounts, causing a big impact on communities whose economy relies heavily on the tourism industry. As the seaweed decays it releases hydrogen sulphide which has a strong odour of rotten eggs.

Various research projects are looking into ways of containing this seaweed, as no one has found a viable solution on an industrial scale. But whilst it is causing problems onshore, offshore in the deep ocean of the Sargasso Sea, the sargassum provides a unique ecosystem for a variety of marine life including turtles and swordfish.

So, this week on The Inquiry we’re asking, ‘What’s going on with sargassum seaweed?’

Contributors:

Dr. Chuanmin Hu, Professor of Oceanography, University of South Florida College of Marine Science, USA

Dr. David Freestone, Executive Secretary, The Sargasso Sea Commission, Washington DC, USA

Dr. Marie-Louise Felix, Marine Biologist and Lecturer, Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, Consultant to the Department of Fisheries, St Lucia

Ajit Subramaniam, Biological Oceanographer, Lamont Research Professor, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, New York, USA

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier
Producer: Jill Collins
Researcher: George Crafer 
Editor: Tara McDermott 
Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards 
Production Co-ordinator: Jordan King 

Image: Miami Beach, Florida, North Beach Atlantic Ocean shoreline, large quantity of arriving seaweed sargassum macroalgae, tourist trying to swim. (Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

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