Sustainable sargassum management in Anguilla, British Virgin Islands and Montserrat

Severe sargassum influxes have become a recurrent event in the Eastern Caribbean, including in Anguilla, British Virgin Islands and Montserrat. Studies are ongoing but these events are generally attributed to ocean eutrophication (including from land-based runoff) and climate change. Influxes have resulted in biodiversity loss in coastal and marine ecosystems; health impacts; and socio-economic/livelihood impacts in the tourism, fisheries and marine transport sectors. Impacts are directly felt in these sectors, including by fisherfolk, dive and tour operators and other community micro-enterprises, as well as by all coastal users, which for these tiny islands comprise the entire populations.

About the Project

Sustainable Sargassum Management in Anguilla, British Virgin Islands and Montserrat aimed to enhance the knowledge, institutional frameworks, experience and commitment of coastal and marine resource managers and users in Anguilla, BVI and Montserrat to manage the ecological and socio-economic risks from sargassum influxes.

How has this project benefitted the Caribbean region?

• By improving research and monitoring of influxes to inform decision-making, by strengthening multi-stakeholder engagement, and by building the capacity of coastal and marine managers and users for sargassum use, removal and rehabilitation of affected areas.

What activities did we undertake to achieve this?

Key activities included: improving research, monitoring of influxes to inform decision-making; strengthening multi-stakeholder engagement; and building the capacity of coastal and marine managers and users for sargassum use, removal and rehabilitation of affected areas.

1. Documenting and using local and scientific knowledge on the ecological and socio-economic impacts of sargassum influxes in Anguilla, BVI and Montserrat to inform management best practices and decision-making.

2. Communicating knowledge to and engaging coastal and marine resource managers and users to raise awareness and implement practical activities on sargassum impacts and management best practices in Anguilla, BVI and Montserrat.

3. Developing and implementing Sargassum Management Plans using a multi-level, participatory process to address coastal and marine biodiversity and livelihood risks at territorial and local levels in Anguilla, BVI and Montserrat.

What did we achieve?

1. Local and scientific knowledge on the ecological and socio-economic impacts of sargassum influxes in Anguilla, BVI and Montserrat were documented and used to inform management best practices and decision-making.

• Sargassum Scoping Studies were conducted for Anguilla, the Virgin Islands and Montserrat.
• Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) drones and related software were procured for each Overseas Territory (OT) in July 2022.
• The capacity of 21 coastal and marine resource managers and users was built in the use of drones and participatory ICT tools to collect scientific and local information and map and monitor sargassum influxes, impacts, and management practices and outcomes. These teams participated in 5-day in-person bootcamps, followed by six months of follow-up training, technical support and coaching. The OT Drone Teams were successful in incrementally planning, designing and conducting 12 sargassum drone beach monitoring surveys to map and quantify the abundance of beached sargassum at these sites. In the process, series of aerial photographs were produced using drones for each OT, which can be integrated into the territories’ GIS/national information systems. The report of the drone training course is available here.
• The outputs of the drone mapping were used to supplement the scoping studies to finalise the participatory sargassum research and monitoring framework (PRAM). This framework supports systematic data collection to address key information gaps and inform decision-making in each of the overseas territories. The PRAM contains components related to monitoring the biophysical, socio-economic and livelihoods, the impacts and opportunities resulting from sargassum influxes and integrates guidance on governance and institutions to support effective participatory monitoring, evaluation and learning. It is designed to enable full engagement of relevant stakeholders in data collection and analysis for research and monitoring of sargassum impacts, management and use.

1. Knowledge was communicated and coastal and marine resource managers and users engaged in raising awareness and implementing practical activities on sargassum impacts and management best practices in Anguilla, BVI and Montserrat.
   • Knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) surveys were conducted in target communities in each territory to gather baseline data on stakeholders’ knowledge and preferences concerning sargassum influxes, their impacts, and management and adaptation actions. These target communities were identified based on the scoping study, focusing on areas exposed to sargassum influxes and dependent on fisheries, tourism, and other related livelihoods significantly affected by such influxes.
   • The KAP surveys were used to inform the development of the project communications and engagement strategy .
   • An ArcGIS StoryMap on the application of drone technology in sargassum management was developed.
   • Sargassum management plans were developed and implemented using a multi-level, participatory process to address coastal and marine biodiversity and livelihood risks at territorial and local levels in Anguilla, BVI and Montserrat. The SAMS (see below) identify the priority coastal areas to target and actions, stakeholders’ roles and responsibilities for monitoring, collection, removal and rehabilitation of each priority area, required resources, and coordination mechanisms.
   • In May 2023, capacity building workshops on Sustainable Sargassum Management were held in Anguilla, the Virgin Islands and Montserrat. The two-day training sessions focused on the principles of sargassum adaptive management, and hosted stakeholders from the coastal, marine and tourism sectors, including public and private sector and CSO representatives.
   • OT stakeholders take part in virtual meetings of the Regional Sargassum Action Learning Network, alongside other government, civil society, private sector, academic, and technical/intergovernmental agency stakeholders working in the Eastern Caribbean region. The objective of the ALN is to facilitate knowledge exchange, learning, and partnerships aimed at enhancing the management and adaptation to sargassum influxes.

Project-related publications

• Scoping Report on Sargassum Influxes in Anguilla, August 2022 – https://canari.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Anguilla-Sargassum-Scoping-Report-09Aug22-1-1.pdf

• Scoping Report on Sargassum Influxes in the Virgin Islands, September 2022 – https://canari.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/VI-Final-Sargassum-Scoping-Report-2Sep22-1.pdf

• Scoping Report on Sargassum Influxes in Montserrat, July 2022 = https://canari.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Montserrat-Final-Draft-Sargassum-Scoping-Report-4.10.22-1.pdf

• Sustainable Sargassum Management in Anguilla, British Virgin Islands and Montserrat – Communications and Engagement Strategy, March 2023: https://canari.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Darwin-Sargassum-OTs-Communication-Engagement-Strategy-final.pdf

• ArcGIS StoryMap – Sustainable Sargassum Management in the British OTs: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/8047b10e6be147caa75efa7c6546e269

Sargassum Adaptive Management Strategies (SAMS) developed for:

• Anguilla Volume 1 and Volume 2
• British Virgin Islands Volume 1 and Volume 2
• Montserrat Volume 1 and Volume 2

Project news and information

• Media release: Workshop held in Anguilla to Improve Sargassum Management
• Media release: “Drone Bootcamps” for Sargassum Monitoring hosted by CANARI in partnership with the Department of Natural Resources in Anguilla, Montserrat and the Virgin Islands (UK)

For more information about this project

Download the project summary

Related projects and programmes

Enhancing Communications and Stakeholder Engagement for the SargADAPT Project