By Jewel Fraser
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Jul 14 2021 (IPS)

A regular visitor to the islands of the Caribbean has become a dreaded nuisance over the past ten years. The sargassum seaweed that typically washes ashore now arrives each year in overwhelming, extraordinary amounts for reasons that are not entirely clear.

When it comes, it threatens marine wildlife, disrupts local fisheries and then dies on Caribbean beaches, leaving stinking toxic debris that drives away tourists.

The Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism is looking for ways to deal with the problem and has launched a 3-year project with the New Zealand government to turn this environmental hazard into an economic opportunity. In this Voices from the Global South podcast, IPS Correspondent Jewel Fraser hears more about the project.

Sargassum covers a Caribbean beach for as far as the eye can see, in 2018.
Music: Big Boi Pants by Shane Ivers – https://www.silvermansound.com

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