The Sargassum Monitoring Network has announced that the Mexican Caribbean will be free from the seaweed for the rest of the year. The network confirmed that there will be no more significant arrivals of the seaweed in the coming months.

Esteban Amaro, the director of the network and a hydrobiologist, reported that of the 15 million tons of seaweed in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 1.5 million tons have reached the Mexican Caribbean. However, not all of this seaweed ends up on the beaches. A large portion is carried away by the Gulf current and heads north. Typically, around 150,000 tons of sargassum arrive during this season.

Amaro assured that any further significant seaweed arrivals this summer and for the rest of the year are highly unlikely. Even if the currents were to change direction and head west, it would take six months for the seaweed to return. He added, "Forget about the sargassum this year."

He recalled that the years with the most significant sargassum arrivals so far were 2015 and 2018. Fortunately, there hasn't been an arrival of that magnitude in recent years.

Amaro explained, "The change in the direction of the sargassum has abruptly halted its arrival. We are looking at between 100 to 150,000 tons that arrived this year. This slightly exceeds last year's figure of around 120,000 tons, and the previous year's 80,000 to 85,000 tons. However, the arrivals have not been concentrated in a single period but have occurred periodically and spread out over time."

The Navy Department continues to manage the collection of small nearby patches of sargassum. They collect the seaweed at sea and transport it to disposal points in the seven municipalities where they operate. Each municipality then channels the sargassum to various collection and processing centers through its Federal Zone direction.