Sargassum

[Reidkon]

I've been seeing STINAPA's Facebook posts and photos about how bad it is on the east coast and Sorobon. If you are on Bonaire now it sounds like they could use some help.
STINAPA Bonaire
Sure hope it is not washing up on the west coast or Klein.

 

[darook]

I think it is primarily in Lac Bay. I doubt that it could get around the island then make the 8 mile trip across the wind to get to Klein. The primary risks are to baby turtles that are caught in it. It probably isn't good for Jibe City's business either.

 

[darook]

This video shows the scale of the clean up. I don't understand the language so am not sure what they are saying. STINAPA's pictures on FB show a lot of people out there working on it but the progress is slow. They need dump trucks and front end loaders. The surf board to garbage can approach is going to take forever!

 

[darook]

The US Coast Guard is helping out now too.

 

[Reidkon]

Cool! It's an enormous job and they can definitely use all the help they can get.

 

[gert7to3]

I wasn't aware of this issue. Apparently it has gotten increasingly common over the past few years. I always thought the Sargasso Sea was way out in the Atlantic and the sargasso itself didn't impact the Caribbean Sea much. Makes me think of the algal blooms which have plagued Lake Erie periodically. It's not just Bonaire having to cope with this mess. Here's an interesting article from 2015 during another sargasso invasion.

Sargassum Is Ruining Beaches From Texas to Tobago