A thick carpet of dense Sargassum Seaweed has been removed from parts of Grand Lagoon beach in Mayaro, but clean-up operations had to be suspended when the backhoe broke down on Wednesday.
Disgruntled fishermen told Guardian Media that their boats remain anchored on shore because of the vast mounds of seaweed, piled as high as six feet on the coastline.
Speaking to Guardian Media, the chairman of the Rio Claro / Mayaro Regional Corporation Raymond Cozier said the backhoe had to be taken back to the yard for repairs and will be brought back into the Maloney East area to clear further expanses on the beachfront.
However, Grand Lagoon fishermen say specialized equipment should be purchased to assist in cleaning up the coasts.
Meanwhile, a member of the UWI think tank has weighed in on the issue.
Dr Ronald Roopnarine is a lecturer in Agri- Environmental Disaster Risk Resilience in the Faculty of Food and Agriculture, University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus (FFA, UWI).
In assessing the seaweed crisis, Dr Roopnarine is advising that clean-ups be better coordinated to ensure proper disposal.
The UWI lecturer also said this is needed as T&T explores the feasibility of options for the use and commercialization of seaweed.
"Usually both state and private entities collect the seaweed and just dump it inland, but there could be adverse effects like salinization of the soil and in some instances, leaching of heavy metals as well. This could compromise the productivity of the land," Dr Roopnarine said.
He called on the government to explore other uses of seaweed at the community level.
"Seaweed can be used as a source of food, compost and mulch. Extracts can be used as plant food, body wraps, and soaps," he added.
On a national scale, Dr Roopnarine wants to see increased public awareness campaigns about the potential uses of seaweed, as well as incentives to encourage innovative uses and commercialization of seaweed products.
"We must encourage innovation. We can turn what is essentially a nuisance into feasible opportunities that can improve lives and livelihoods, particularly in rural coastal communities," he pointed out.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Kazim Hosein said T&T is continuing to explore the use of Sargassum seaweed.
"Trinidad and Tobago, through the Ministry of Agriculture Land and Fisheries, is participating in the ‘Sargassum Products for Climate Resilience in the Caribbean’ project funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), and implemented by the New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited (PFR) and the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM)," Minister Hosein said.
He added: "The Developing Sargassum Products for Climate Resilience in the Caribbean project formally commenced in April 2021. This project aims to develop Sargassum-derived product prototypes and production processes, including a commercialization strategy to support its marketing efforts."
In a Caricom Today article published last February, the “Outlook of 2023 Sargassum blooms in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico”, released by the University of South Florida Optical Oceanography Lab on 1 February 2023, revealed:
"…the overall Sargassum quantity in the Atlantic Ocean doubled from December 2022 to January 2023 (8.7 million tonnes), again setting a new record (previous January record was 6.5 million tonnes in 2018).”
The Outlook noted that this was the second consecutive monthly doubling of Sargassum, previously observed only in 2018, and all indications are that the Sargassum biomass will continue to accumulate and migrate westward over the next several months.