Even though the contingency for the arrival of sargassum ended more than two months ago, sargassum seaweed monitoring for Playa del Carmen and Cancun continues with a report from el Observatorio Ciudadano del Sargazo.
They report that of 133 beaches around the Cancun, Riviera Maya region, 70 are completely free of seaweed with the balance of beaches reporting very little. El Observatorio Ciudadano del Sargazo reports that as of December 17, the seaweed situation around the state of Quintana Roo is virtually nil.
They say the beaches of Isla Contoy, Isla Mujeres, Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Riviera Maya, Cozumel, Tulum, Sian Ka’an, Mahahual and Chetumal are completely free of sargassum seaweed, and that another seven of the 17 tourist destinations that make up the region are classified as having “small amounts” of sargassum.
Beaches classified with “small amounts of sargassum seaweed” include Holbox, Costa Mujeres, Riviera Cancun, Puerto Morelos, Akumal, Punta Allen and Xcalak.
Of the 133 beaches observed in this region, 52.6 percent are free of sargassum seaweed, while 41.4 percent have recorded very small amounts of sargassum. In recent years, a change in the Gulf stream during winter dragged the sargassum into the Quintana Roo region.
Both federal and state authorities continue to work on battling the arrival of the seaweed to ensure pristine beaches remain for all to enjoy. Real-time videos of beaches around the Cancun, Riviera Maya region can be seen via Webcams de Mexico.
The Yucatan Times
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