Mexico is throwing money and hardware at a smelly problem. The government has launched a $115 million campaign against sargassum, the brown seaweed that has been swamping beaches along the Caribbean coast in record amounts.
A record season
Sargassum is a floating macroalgae that grows in the Atlantic and drifts into the Caribbean. As it decomposes on the sand, it releases hydrogen sulfide, giving beaches a rotten-egg smell that sends tourists indoors.
This year has been one of the worst seasons on record. Up to 9,000 tons a day have washed onto shores near Cancun, Tulum, and Playa del Carmen. Officials had projected about 119,000 tons for 2026, and the haul so far has already blown past earlier estimates.
Ships, barriers, and shovels
President Claudia Sheinbaum announced the cleanup plan last week. Mexico will deploy two large ships to capture the seaweed before it reaches the beach. The navy will install 30 miles of containment barriers to trap the sargassum at sea, and hundreds of workers will shovel up what gets through.
The brown tide is more than an eyesore. The rotting seaweed can threaten the health of cleanup workers, who breathe in the gas it releases. It also disrupts fishing and can smother sea turtle nesting sites.
From nuisance to product
Some see an opportunity in the mess. Mexico's environment ministry has identified dozens of projects that could turn sargassum into fertilizers, biofuels, and bioplastics. So far, backing for those ventures remains limited, and most public money still goes to cleanup.
Climate change is helping the seaweed thrive. Warmer waters and nutrient runoff feed the blooms, and scientists say the great Atlantic sargassum belt keeps growing. Mexico's war on the seaweed may be a battle that returns every summer.