Pelagic Sargassum cleanup cost in Mexico

Pelagic Sargassum spp. (Sargassum) blooms in the tropical Atlantic began in 2011. Since then, frequent and significant beaching events have caused ecological, economic, and human-health-related problems in over 30 countries. On the Mexican Caribbean coast, massive beaching events began in late 2014 and, since 2018, have occurred annually, with high-volume landings lasting from five to seven months. This study analyzes data on Sargassum cleanup costs done by three municipalities (Puerto Morelos, Solidaridad, and Tulum) and five hotels between Tulum and Cancun. The annual harvested volumes ranged from 10,105-40,932 m3 per kilometer, resulting in US$ 0.3-1.1 M cleanup costs per kilometer. The prices of cleaning one cubic meter of Sargassum ranged from US$: 19-85. The expenses were influenced by cleanup management strategies rather than beach cast volumes. Hotels were more cost-effective than municipalities. For the city of Puerto Morelos, we additionally calculated the yearly and monthly cleanup costs using the mean per-unit price obtained from hotels within this municipality (US$ 27 per m3) and the Sargassum volumes removed monthly from the beach by 14 hotels during 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022. The costs per kilometer for this municipality ranged from 0.8 to 1.5 M in years (Mean: 1.0 M) and US$ 10,186-100,446 over months, with mean values greater than US$ 70,000 from May to August. The data provided here can help governments and hotels to anticipate cleanup costs for forecasting purposes and industries interested in valorizing Sargassum.

Automated summary

Since 2011, tropical Atlantic Sargassum blooms have caused problems in over 30 countries, with significant ecological, economic, and human-health-related issues. The Mexican Caribbean coast has been affected by massive beaching events since late 2014, occurring annually from 2018 onwards. Cleanup costs for Sargassum removal varied between municipalities and hotels, ranging from US$ 0.3-1.1 M per kilometer, with prices ranging from US$ 19-85 per cubic meter. Hotels were found to be more cost-effective than municipalities.