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Officials begin aerial Sargassum monitoring for Riviera Maya

Riviera Maya, Q.R. — Sea monitoring for the potential arrival of sargassum has begun for Riviera Maya. The Secretary of the Navy has begun aerial monitoring to verify conditions of the coast of Quintana Roo for the possible arrival of sargassum.

A team specialist, oceanographer and crew member Alejandro Bravo Quezada, said they have made the first flyover along the Quintana Roo coast, noting that they were able to see the deterioration in the amount of sargassum compared to previous years.

He says that the air monitoring will be preformed every week during the sargassum season. When the seaweed is seen, navy personnel will head out to the affected area where they will contain the sargassum at sea using specialized containment equipment.

On land, any sargassum that does make it to shore will be collected with shovels and wheelbarrows. Navy personnel will deal with any sargassum that accumulates in the sea barriers laid along the coast.

The navy will work in coordination with the custom built sargassum collection vessels, which are relocated according to need. Helicopter flyovers of the coast will continually be conducted with the objective of monitoring the presence of sargassum in the area of operations. With the aircraft, personnel are able to guide and direct surface units to the areas with the highest incidence of sargassum.

The aircraft departed from the naval base in Chetumal, monitoring the coast from Xcalak to Mahahual, Sian Ka’an, Riviera Maya, Cozumel, Isla Mujeres, Cancun and Isla Blanca.