Sargassum is an important aquatic plant that lives in tropical waters around the world. It serves as important habitat for many types of fish and is an important fishing destination for sport fishers. Every year sargassum in the Atlantic piles in large weeds lines (wind rows) that be 100s of km long and many km wide. The weed lines slowly move and grow from East to West and end up in the Caribbean beaches particularly Costa Rica Carribbean beaches. This looks like a record breaking year for sargassum on Costa Rica’s Carribbean coastline.

Sargassum is a very important aquatic resource, but once it lands on the beaches it does not go away. It can take it months to decompose and bury through natural processes. It can continue to build up over time and end up  meters high and many meters wide along our beautiful Caribbean beaches. Local government can try to remove it, but it is very heavy, smelly and takes a huge amount of effort. 

Beach visitors coming to Costa Rica should consider the beautiful Pacific Coast beaches like Alma del Pacifico,  where Sargassum is rarely, if ever seen on the beach.