Jody Serrano
Editor in chiefEditor in Chief at Xataka On. Before joining Webedia, I was a tech reporter at Gizmodo and The Messenger. While I've covered all sorts of things related to technology, I'm specialized in writing about social media, Internet culture, Twitch, and streamers.
If there were a soundtrack to describe Florida right now, it would no doubt be the main theme from Jaws. In this case, though, the state isn’t anxious over an impending shark attack.
It’s worried about the potential invasion of millions of metric tons of sargassum seaweed.
A record-breaking forecast. In their recent forecast, researchers at the University of South Florida’s Optical Oceanography Lab predicted that the state could see more seaweed than ever before this year.
Notably, they pointed out that the total amount of sargassum in the ocean in April was 40% higher than the previous all-time high record in 2022. According to Chuanmin Hu, an oceanography professor at USF, the annual high is typically seen in June or July.
"The big story is that the total amount has exceeded the previous all-time high," Hu told USA Today.
Sargassum seaweed. The seaweed that’s arriving on Florida’s beaches isn’t just any kind of seaweed. It’s sargassum seaweed, a yellowish-brown species with leafy appendages and branches that that floats around like giant patches or rafts. These giant clumps can stretch out for miles.
Sargassum plays an important role in the ocean ecosystem, providing nourishment for crabs, sea turtles, shrimp, and other marine life. However, sargassum can cause huge problems in large quantities.
For example, the seaweed reduces the amount of oxygen in the water, which ends up killing fish and harming coral reefs. As a result, it affects fishermen, who see their livelihoods affected. Sargassum can even damage fishing gear and block access to harbors.
It also affects the experience of people visiting beaches. When sargassum rots, it releases a foul odor and becomes slimy. Furthermore, the seaweed turns into methane when it rots, which contributes to the warming of the planet.
Cleaning up the seaweed. Besides damaging the environment and the economy, sargassum is also a pain to clean up. Miami-Dade County spent $3.9 million to clean up the huge patches of seaweed in 2022, according to Phys.
There’s also no clear answer on what exactly to do with all those tons of seaweed. While seaweed is popular in dishes in some parts of the world, Florida doesn’t recommend sargassum for human consumption.
This species of seaweed releases dangerous levels of hydrogen sulfide gas that can irritate the eyes, nose, and throat. It also contains traces of heavy metals, such as arsenic.
Some companies are working on transforming the seaweed into something else, including fertilizer, green hydrogen, and biofuels, instead of sending it to a landfill.
Tracking the seaweed. Using satellite imagery, USF scientists have measured 30 million metric tons of seaweed out in the ocean. That doesn’t mean they can predict where exactly it will end up, though.
It’s not certain, for instance, how much of those 30 million metric tons will actually make it to Florida’s beaches, Phys points out. In their forecast, USF researchers said that more sargassum is expected to be “transported to the west Caribbean Sea and then to the Gulf through the Yucatan.”
Florida also isn’t the only victim of a sargassum invasion. Caribbean nations and islands are expecting mats of the seaweed on their shores, too.
While we don't know exactly what beaches the seaweed will end up on, what is certain is that there’s more sargassum still to come. We’re still just in May, after all.
Images | Thor Tryggvason | Karl Callwood
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