Seaweed invasion to attack Florida’s beaches more violently than this year

Bad News, Beach Fans: Seaweed Monsters are expected to return and be bigger than ever.

Scientists at the University of South Florida predict that people scientists called Sargassum, a point that tracks floating seaweed mats called Sargassum, could be the state’s worst seaweed season. The latest report, published on April 30, projects 40% more seaweed than previous record turmoil in 2022.

The seaweed masses stacked on the beach and gather around the marina and docks also form earlier than usual in the remote seawater. Bloom began in March and reached unprecedented levels by the end of April, said Chung Min-fu, a professor who runs USF’s Optical Oceanography Laboratory.

What is responsible? He said winds, nutrients and high temperatures caused by climate change can all affect the formation and movement of the Sargassum belt.

“Speculation is this spring. Water temperatures in the Western Atlantic and Caribbean are at the right time and higher than normal,” Hu said. “And if that goes above the norm, the plants will be happy.”

I’m not that happy. People are trying to swim and breathe the scent of the scent that has been said to dry out the hills of Sargassom.

When Sandra Avilash went to catch some waves at Haulover Beach in late April, she said it was like “surfing in a pool of seaweed.” She left at home that day with lice, forgetting the rash guard. She has been back since then and said the conditions have been much better, but that’s different every day.

At South Point Pier, beach fans had to lift their knees to their chests on Wednesday to line up the ocean and pass through seaweed. The smell was acceptable, but most of the seaweed has been floating on land recently. The shorebird chose it for small crabs, insects and insects. I didn’t care about everyone. A woman sunbathed along the coast, forgetting the earth beneath her feet. Some children tried to make the most of it, adorning the sand castles with brown algae.

By Thursday morning the beach was clean and the tractor marks remained from the cleanup.

Costly cleanup invoice

Miami-Dade County cleaned up $2.8 million in seaweed in 2020. This is the figure that rose to $3.9 million during the 2022 record season. The county did not respond to comments before it was made public about how much this year’s cleanup has cost so far.

There are environmental and climate concerns about not only sacrificing a significant penny, but also dumping all organic materials into landfills. When it collapses, it transforms into methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that warms the atmosphere.

At Crandon Park on Thursday, 23-year-old Miles Blairhen, a trip from Ireland to Miami, was surprised to see the beach being transported to the landfill. He said he went on a foraging tour in Ireland to find some edible portions to put in soups and salads.

“It’s part of the ecosystem and we shouldn’t ruin it,” his father, Finber, repeated.

Although some seaweeds are edible, the seaweed from Sargassum found in Florida is generally not recommended to eat due to health risks. Sargassum releases hydrogen sulfide gas, which can irritate the eyes, nose and throat, and contains signs of heavy metals.

Miami-Dade is looking for a better solution with all the seaweed that is lost to tourists every day. The Miami-Dade Innovation Authority gave four startups $100,000 and found a more beneficial way to recycle seaweed. Some ideas include switching to fertilizer, green hydrogen, and biofuel. At least two companies will begin testing their solutions this summer.

We are working on better predictions

USF scientists have measured about 30 million tonnes of seaweed using satellite imagery, but they can’t say how much it comes in our way or which beaches will see the worst. The lab, which received a $3.2 million grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is working to help Sargassum get better at zero in predicting where it will ultimately get caught up in.

Josephina Olasco, professor of marine science at the University of Miami Rosenstiel, School of Atmospheric and Geo-Science, studies seaweed movements. Recently, she used a university wind wave storm simulator to track how Sargassum moved with various flows and winds. Ultimately, she wants to create a mathematical model to predict the horrifying arrival of seaweed.

Olascoaga said some studies suggest that too much water temperature can actually damage seaweed production.

That’s what happened last year when USF experts predicted the “year of major sargasam” based on the huge strips of seaweed they saw in the Atlantic. It didn’t come true.

Seaweed has several advantages. Charter Boat Captain Nelson Delatre is a skilled fisherman with over 30 years of experience and said he might get entangled with lines and lures, but brings the entire ecosystem. He offers deep sea fishing adventures at Billin Office Charters at Crandon Park Marina.

“There’s fish eggs, jellyfish there,” said Delatre, who runs a Billin office fishing charter at Crandon Park Marina. “The mahi comes in and is chased by Merlin and Billfish. Then a white-tip shark comes and gets a scrap of what Merlin kills. It’s like a big McDonald’s.”