"Stinking Seaweed" Coastal Algal Bloom Impact on Tourism
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| Photo:Reuter Stinking mats of seaweed piling up on Caribbean beaches | Stuff.co.nz |
The effects of Algal bloom has been felt recently even more than before, especially when we talk about the tourism industry. As late as August 2015, and since then many Caribbean beaches have been affected negatively causing many tourist to cancel their vacations. Unfortunately the "Stinking Seaweed" as many of the locals refer to it as or Sargassum,apart from being unsightly also attracts biting sand fleas that are know to cause red sores. This biological event has been termed as a natural disaster by the local authorities all over the Caribbean.Not only affecting the tourism industry directly through the tourist comfort when visiting the beach resorts being affected but also by affecting another supporting industry being fishing. This biological event has without a doubt thrown marine environment in chaos making it difficult to support the normal fishing loads of many of the beach resorts that depend on this source of food to provide for guests. Researchers have been led to believe that the increasing levels of such as pollutants and fertilizers are the cause of this algal bloom problem. So is the Sargassum to blame for this crisis or are we? This problem must be taken seriously or the picturesque Caribbean vistas will be transformed into sewage filled cesspits.
