About 3.6 million pounds of sargassum has been removed from Barbados’ beaches so far this year, as authorities consider pumping seaweed out of the sea before it reaches heavily affected shores.
National Project Coordinator of the Sargassum Seaweed Collection Unit, David Carter, provided the update to reporters on Wednesday while a visiting team from the Dominican Republic explored opportunities for sustainable sargassum management here.
About 150 workers are deployed on beaches daily, with River Bay, St Lucy; Skeetes Bay, St Philip and Long Beach, Christ Church among the most challenging areas, Carter said.
“These beaches along the coastline here in the south are mainly commercial and resort and hotels, so we have teams every day cleaning these beaches manually,” he said.
But some beaches have gone for weeks without clearing, including at Enterprise — also known as Miami Beach — frustrating beachgoers and seaside shops.
The unit, part of the Ministry of the Environment, had removed about 3 500 pounds of sargassum from each beach, contributing to the 3.6 million-pound total for the year, he told Barbados TODAY.
Carter said the unit was also considering the use of pump harvesters to remove sargassum from the water before it reaches the shore, particularly in areas experiencing heavy inundation, and “We’re using the pump harvester to get away from destroying the beaches.”
He explained that the equipment is placed in the water and uses floating booms and mesh to prevent fish and turtles from being drawn into the system.
“It is just to get the sargassum out of the water through a pump system, so that this sargassum can be used later for biogas and stuff like that,” he said.
According to Carter, removing sargassum manually from the sand and subsequently taking it off the beach can contribute to coastal erosion.
The unit is considering placing a pump harvester at River Bay, where the beach is “heavily inundated”, and is also examining Skeetes Bay as another possible location.
“We’re looking at how we can utilise that pump system there,” Carter said, noting that River Bay’s relatively calm conditions made it more suitable for the equipment, while Skeetes Bay presented logistical challenges because of rougher sea conditions.
(SB)
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