Sustainable Sargassum Management
A Climate-Resilient Marine Spatial Plan will guide the protection and sustainable use of the Virgin Islands’ marine environment. It will define key zones for conservation, fisheries, recreation, and development—supporting climate resilience while enabling a balanced blue economy.
Introduction
Sargassum is a type of large, brown, free-floating seaweed. Since 2011, partly fueled by climate change, a new massive and recurrent sargassum bloom, known as the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt, has formed, impacting Caribbean coastlines annually.
Mass sargassum landings in The Virgin Islands have resulted in potable water production disruptions and increasingly negative health, tourism and environmental impacts, such as smothering and degradation of beaches and coral reefs, coastal water quality decline, degradation of benthic habitats and fish kills.
Landings in The Virgin Islands have been intensifying since 2016 with 2025 being a record-breaking year. Landings are expected to persist and intensify, mandating an effective response strategy with enhanced approaches to sargassum diversion, collection/cleanup and productive use.
The Impact
This project includes multiple components to address mass sargassum landings, including:
a) Development of standard operating procedures for sargassum response in line with the 2023 British Virgin Islands Sargassum Adaptive Management Strategy ($15,000)
b) Grants (totaling up to $150,000 annually for 5 years) to small business startups researching viable and safe commercial applications of sargassum to provide a sustainable approach to its management
c) Installation of booms or other barriers to protect sensitive coastal sites, such as environmentally significant areas, key tourist beaches and desalination intake sites, from mass sargassum landings ($2,000,000)
Procurement of equipment for cleanup of mass sargassum landings ($450,000)
The Problem
Mass sargassum landings at Handsome Bay, Trellis Bay, Road Town Waterfront, Hodge’s Creek and more
The Solution
Introduction of Sargassum boom and ocean harvester
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