Interview: Scientist Warns of "Seagrass Crisis" in Caribbeans

August 28, 2018

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by Carina Lopez (Xinhua) Massive quantities of Sargassum seaweed are invading Caribbean beaches mostly thanks to global warming and countries should work closely with scientists for a sustainable solution, said a researcher at a leading Mexican university on Saturday.

Brigitta Ine Van Tussenbroek, an expert on tropical marine vegetation, is from the Netherlands and is now working as a senior researcher at the Institute of Ocean Sciences and Limnology in the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

"The original Sargasso Sea was located close to the Bermuda Islands, and the rising sea temperature in the last decade has allowed the seaweed to grow enormous amounts in northern Ecuador," she told Xinhua.

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Lastly, a feasibility study is underway on the industrial-scale use of seaweed so that an economic value can be extracted from the organic waste.

Experts are already considering the use of the Sargassum in food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, or as a biofuel. READ MORE

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