Sargassum was observed by Columbus and his sailors when he came to the New World in 1492. It provides habitat to over 100 species of fishes and invertebrates, as well as endangered species like sea turtles. The name Sargasso Sea actually does come from the seaweed Sargassum. In the 1930s, Albert Parr, an oceanographer, collected it with a net and quantified it.
A giant mass of seaweed is heading towards beaches in Mexico, Florida and the Caribbean, bringing with it toxic gases and a smell similar to rotting eggs. Visible from space, the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt stretches from the coast of Africa all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. It is the biggest seaweed bloom on the planet, and for more than a decade researchers have watched as it has continued to grow in size. 2023 is predicted to be another record year. Madeleine Finlay speaks to sargassum expert Prof Brian Lapointe about why it’s getting bigger, what happens when it washes up on coastlines, and if anything can be done to deal with it. Help support our independent journalism at
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