From seaweed crisis to a Caribbean blue economy
What if the seaweed threatening Caribbean beaches could become part of the solution? A growing initiative is collecting Sargassum before it reaches the shore and turning it into a raw material for new industries.
When a seaweed invasion becomes a crisis
When large amounts of Sargassum reach the coast, they can accumulate in thick layers that block sunlight and reduce oxygen in marine ecosystems, affecting local biodiversity and fish populations.
“Those heavy volumes remove the oxygen and block the sunlight from that local marine ecosystem,” said Andrés Bisonó, founder and CEO of BlueGea Group, which includes SOS Carbon, SOS Biotech and Fundación Terra & Marre. The seaweed can also obstruct sea turtles trying to reach the ocean, while decomposing Sargassum releases carbon, methane and other substances that can create risks for human health.
The impact also reaches the tourism industry. Beaches covered by large amounts of seaweed can become less attractive to visitors, particularly in destinations known for clear waters.
Bisonó said published data estimates that Sargassum can reduce tourist visits to affected destinations by between 7% and 30%, with the direct and indirect economic impact potentially reaching between $2 billion and $10 billion. “This is a battle that is not going away”, he said, pointing to increasing volumes and a longer Sargassum season.
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The problem is no longer limited to the Caribbean. Bisonó said invasive seaweed is also affecting places such as Florida and parts of Europe, while warmer oceans, pollution and mineral runoff from synthetic fertilisers are among the factors associated with its increase.
BlueGea Group's work on Sargassum began in 2018 at MIT's mechanical engineering department, with the aim of addressing the invasive seaweed crisis while developing new opportunities for a Caribbean blue economy.
Turning an unwanted problem into a resource
Rather than relying only on beach clean-ups, BlueGea's SOS Carbon has developed the Littoral Collection Module, or LCM, a system that can be installed on local boats to harvest Sargassum in the ocean before it reaches the coast. According to the company, one boat can collect up to 70 tonnes of fresh Sargassum per day.
The model is also built around local communities, particularly fishermen who know the affected coastal areas. By working with them, SOS Carbon creates formal jobs while using their local knowledge to identify where and how the seaweed can be safely collected. Bisonó said communities have shown a strong willingness to participate, describing their involvement as an important part of making the model scalable.
The collected seaweed can then be used as a raw material for products in agriculture, cosmetics, biomaterials and animal feed. Bisonó said the organisation has developed industrial-level, modular biorefineries and is building a containerised biorefinery in Grenada.
Its technologies and operations have already been scaled across six countries, including the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Barthélemy, Puerto Rico and Grenada. “We have already validated and showcased that the technologies that we have developed are fully scalable and transferable to other locations,” Bisonó said.
For now, however, the industry still depends partly on funding from those affected by the problem. Bisonó said more Sargassum is currently arriving than can be used in value-added products, meaning governments, tourism businesses, power-generation companies and other partners still help pay for mitigation and environmental sanitation. The longer-term goal is to change that balance by turning Sargassum into a raw material for the blue economy, including biostimulants, a market Bisonó said is already worth approximately $3 billion globally.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
