There's seaweed and then there's a seaweed infestation. What's going on here in the latter, and it needs to be taken very seriously. Many fish and aquatic animals do feed on this (tangs, surgeonfish, parrotfish, etc.) but in these concentrations it is not possible to contain this with such herbivores. When it collects it suffocates the sea life below it, and eliminates the oxygen exchange with the air that is so vital for a healthy ecosystem. It is simply overwhelming the eastern facing shores and beaches of these otherwise beautiful areas. The suggestion to set up off-shore barges to collect this stuff on a daily basis is probably the best (and only) way to deal with this at this time.
It's also important to note that sea grasses are algae, and the 'red tide' is not actually algae by rather cyanobacteria. Algae is good for many reasons, but not in the concentrations we are now seeing. Cyanobacteria is never a good thing, and can inflict serious damage to marine life when such outbreaks occur. Excessive nutrients in the water lead to algae blooms, whereas oxygen deprivation can trigger a red tide outbreak.
Recently, my wife and I were in Cancun staying in the 'hotel zone' there. In the past I never encountered much algae when I went to the beach and into the water. But, at our last visit (late April/early May) I was surprised by the amount of sargassum I saw afloat in the water and collecting on the pristine white sand beaches there. Not as bad as SXM (yet), but I could see the pattern forming here. A young man carefully raked up the sargassum each morning with a metal rake, collected it, and by 10:00 a.m. the beach was clear of the stuff. But, every day he had to repeat the same the same tasks. I talked with him as best I could in 'broken' Spanish, and he told me this was is main job every morning six days a week (he gets one day off each week).
The Caribbean Islands, Mexico, Belize, etc. need to form a commission to take this head on right now, and not five years down the road. Let's hope this happens soon or a place like Orient Beach may eventually become a deserted beach where swimming is no longer possible.
