Placencia’s Sargassum Battle: ‘It Keeps Coming’

Fifteen dump truck loads of sargassum were cleared from Placencia Beach in mid-April, yet the shoreline remains overwhelmed as more continues to wash ashore.

“Sargassum continues to come in quite heavily, and we will continue with efforts to remove as much as possible,” the Council said.

The crisis is not limited to Placencia. Hopkins Village is also affected, and as of late April, massive loads of sargassum are spreading across the entire Caribbean, battering the Yucatan Peninsula and Belize’s coastline. Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker have also reported blankets of sargassum washing up to their shorelines. 

Residents in Placencia are complaining about it. One said online, “The smell has been horrendous so I’m hoping that something can be done in the future to prevent this from happening here in Placencia.”

Meanwhile, the sargassum invasion is taking a toll on tourism in high-traffic destinations in Belize. “We were there last week… It was disappointing that we could only go in the sea twice,” said one tourist visiting Placencia. She added, “While the sargassum was this bad, we still had a fantastic time.”

Residents in Placencia say they are fighting a losing battle with every day beach cleanups, adding, “We just don’t have the necessary tools, staff, and equipment to counter the tons and tons of sargassum.”

Earlier this year, the government committed BZD$250,000 in emergency cleanup grants and launched a BZD$50 million sargassum-to-fuel conversion project. Record-high levels of sargassum are forecasted by summer.