Mahahual, Q.R. — The arrival of thousands of tons of sargassum off the southern coast of Quintana Roo continues. From Manahual to Xcalak, the mass landing of the seaweed is a concern for local businesses, especially after the announcement of a cruise ship arrival.
Tons of decomposing sargassum remains along the shore. A week of stormy weather has not helped locals with their cleanup efforts. The sargassum has exceeded the cleaning work started by locals in the the Port of Mahahual since the area is flooded with algae again.
Rodolfo Espadas Iste, vice president of the Association of Businessmen of the Port of Mahahual pointed out that the situation is bad since authorities of the Othón P. Blanco city council ignored the issue, saying unlike other regions, there is only one area where sea barriers were placed.
He clarified that the fault lies not with SEMAR, but with the municipal government for failing to place the anchors needed to support the barriers. In April, the director of Ecology of the Othón P. Blanco city council, Alondra Martínez Flores said the anchors for the anti-sargassum barriers would be placed, however, Espadas Iste said those anchors are still in the Secretariat of the Navy’s warehouses.
He says they are the only beach tourist destination in the south of the state without the support of authorities. In April, sargassum began arriving with a 25-meter-wide strip covering the beach shore.
Source: RMN
