$25M Spent, Still No “Rightful Magic Recipe” Against Sargassum

Belize is not winning its battle against sargassum, even as millions are poured every year into fighting the growing coastal crisis.

Minister of Blue Economy and Rural South Area Representative Andre Perez says that no real solution for the massive blankets of sargassum invasion choking beaches and hurting the tourism sector and coastal communities has been proposed.

“There are many plans; there are many projects. We have been entertaining so many people coming in to offer us the different ways to use it [sargassum],” Perez told News 5 today. “But the fact is that no one has yet that rightful magic recipe to say this is how we collect it because the only way to collect the sargassum to eliminate it is to collect it at sea. We cannot let it reach the shores.”

Without a reliable way to collect the seaweed, it reaches the shore, and sargassum starts rotting.

Perez confirmed $25 million has been invested in San Pedro alone for beach cleanup. Meanwhile, coastal communities including Hopkins, Caye Caulker, Seine Bight, and Placencia are each able to access up to ten thousand dollars monthly through the Belize Tourism Board (BTB).

The seaweed keeps coming regardless. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, large portions of Belize’s coastlines are rated at ‘High Coastal Risk Levels’ for sargassum wash-ups, with forecasts pointing to a worsening season ahead.

Meanwhile, pilot programmes in the south are exploring ways to convert sargassum into fertiliser, framed art, sarga-blocks/bricks, and sand supplement, with collectors retrieving it ecologically at sea before it reaches shore.

But, while Perez welcomed these initiatives, he said, “We have yet to see it working.”