Caribbean Scientists Explore Sustainable Uses for Invasive Seaweed
Scientists suggest that the seaweed clogging up the Caribbean could be turned into sustainable products. Sargassum mats block fishing, damage tourism, and harm marine life. Buzz60’s Maria Mercedes Galuppo has the story.
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00:00Scientists suggest that the seaweed clogging up the Caribbean could be turned into sustainable products.
00:05Sargassum mats block fishing, damage tourism, and harm marine life.
00:09Since 2011, a giant floating mass of sargassum has formed between West Africa and South America,
00:15growing into a 5,000-mile-long Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt.
00:19As WNS reports, this seaweed bloom is visible from space and weighs about 35 million tons.
00:25Scientists attribute the blooms to nutrient pollution and warming seas.
00:29Researchers from the Universities of York and Southampton, along with the University of the West Indies,
00:34are exploring ways to use sargassum for sustainable products.
00:37However, its high arsenic content limits its potential.
00:41They found stable protein levels but variable alginate content with processing methods.
00:46Additionally, seaweed exposed to volcanic ash contained less arsenic but more nickel and zinc.
00:52Understanding sargassum's environmental responses is crucial for its future use.
00:56The researchers suggest that huge quantities of sargassum will continue washing up on Caribbean shores
01:02driven by currents from the central tropical Atlantic.