Port of Spain, May 18, 2023 – Since 2011, severe sargassum influxes have been a recurrent event in the Eastern Caribbean, including in the British Overseas Territories of Anguilla, the Virgin Islands and Montserrat. Current research has attributed the sargassum phenomenon to ocean eutrophication, inclusive of land-based run-off, and climate change related ocean warming, upwellings and shifting ocean currents.
Sargassum influxes have had detrimental impacts on the environment, and socio-economic conditions and public health in these small and vulnerable islands, most gravely affecting various stakeholders in the coastal and marine sectors. Critical adverse effects of sargassum influxes include biodiversity loss through the suffocation of marine mammals and turtles, and smothering of coral reefs, seagrass beds, and mangroves.
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For further information, please contact: Yasa Belmar – yasa@canari.org