Sargassum Challenges

The main challenge with Sargassum overall is that there is too much of it that ends up on coastlines and beaches. There has been an increase of 6 million tons of sargassum covered in the Atlantic Ocean from May to June of 2022.7 In some places sargassum has increased by 20% higher than the previous record that was set in 2018.8 Scientists believe that the increase in this type of algae is due to an increase in nutrients found in the ocean and warmer waters due to climate change.

In order to remove the seaweed from the shorelines of USVI it would cost about $25,000 per day.9 The challenge in removing the algae would be limiting the amount that can be transported to landfills. Transporting substantial amounts of sargassum would be dangerous as it is highly flammable. Furthermore, removing sargassum would require a delicate process to ensure that the habitat is not disrupted. There are also economic impacts on the tourism industry within the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and along the east coast of the United States from the influx of sargassum.

Tourism Disruption

Tourism is a significant industry for the Caribbean. For the United States Virgin Islands travel and tourism contributed over $1 billion in 2019.10 Tourism accounts for about 60% of St. Croix’s economy from about 2 million people visit the United States Virgin Islands every year. Though data has shown growth in the tourism industry during the first quarter of 2022 this might be due to the surge that many tourism destinations have seen growth in the tourism industry. To sustain tourism, it’s important for tourists to have memorable experiences. Desalination is the process of removing salt water and minerals from water and therefore turning it into fresh water. Within St. Croix, two reverse osmosis water production plants produce 3.6 million gallons of fresh water per day for Crucians to use for drinking, cooking, and other uses.11 This is very crucial given that St. Croix faces droughts. From the influx of sargassum, it overwhelmed the desalination plants and forced Governor Albert Bryan to declare a state of emergency to receive support from the federal government to mitigate the problem.12

Desalination

Electricity

For most of St. Croix to use electricity would require the use of purified water. Water is needed for the heat recovery steam generator which can add 19 megawatts of power; which is the equivalent of about 17,000 homes per year.13 The lack of water forces the government to use diesel which is more expensive. Crucians spent about 43 cents per kilowatt hour which is more than 3 times the cost of the national average at 14 cents per kilowatt hour.14

Sargassum Uses

• Agriculture

• Antifouling

• Bioenergy

• Bioplastics

• Bioremediation & Purification

• Clothing, Footwear & Accessories

• Construction

• Cosmetics

• Electrochemical Industry

• Environmental Restoration

• Food & Beverages

• Lubricants, Surfactants and Adhesives

• Paper Products

• Pharmaceutical & Biomedical

• Carbon Sequestration

There are about 15 industries that sargassum can be used.15

Sargablocks

An entrepreneur from Mexico, Omar Vázquez Sánchez, also known as “Mr. Sargassum”, created Sargablocks.16

Costing about $.50 per brick to make, it requires less water than standard bricks and is less harmful to the environment. Each brick contains 40% sargassum, and the remaining contains 60% of organic materials which includes limestone that can be found on St. Croix. Sargablocks are also very resilient. One of the houses that he built using sargablocks endured 5 hurricanes and 6 tropical storms. This material can be used in the Caribbean and abroad considering the increase in severe weather events.