Record Seaweed Levels Are Hitting Caribbean Beaches — Hotels Are Cutting Prices

Sargassum seaweed is washing ashore across the Caribbean in record quantities this summer. Data released Monday by the University of South Florida shows almost every region of the Caribbean and Gulf hit record-high levels in May — and volumes are likely to increase further in June, potentially making 2026 the worst year since monitoring began.

Sargassum is a naturally occurring brown macroalgae that plays an important ecological role in the open ocean, providing habitat for marine life. 

Some of the first instances of sargassum washing up on shores around the Caribbean were reported in 2011. Since then, volumes have increased to excessive levels. 

When it washes ashore in large volumes it decomposes rapidly and releases hyd