EyeTech presents “The Caribbean’s Sargassum Problem Just Became a Billion-Dollar Gold Mine,” a 7-minute documentary on the possible uses for the invasive sargassum washing up on many Caribbean shores. The video focuses on recent proposals and solutions (such as production of fuel and fertilizer) in Mexico, Barbados, and Grenada. [Many thanks to José M. Irizarry for bringing this item to our attention.]
Description: A beach in Cancun, Mexico, recently disappeared under a thick layer of rotting sargassum seaweed, leading to significant cleanup costs and evacuations. This event highlights pressing issues of climate change and water pollution impacting our ocean ecosystems. We explore potential solutions, including innovative methods for sargassum seaweed treatment and the role of beach cleaner technologies.
In this video, I look at how anaerobic digestion converts rotting sargassum into methane that can power cars and electricity grids — and how a low-tech process using hot water, lemon juice, and lactobacillus bacteria removes 98% of the arsenic that was supposed to make all of this impossible. Welcome to EyeTech – where we cover the world’s most ambitious innovations in clean energy, climate technology, and environmental breakthroughs.
Sources & Further Reading:
Dr. Legena Henry — Barbados https://rumandsargassum.com/
SarGas biogas startup — Grenada https://sargaslimited.com/
Sargassum biofertilizer arsenic-reduction study (ScienceDirect, 2025)
Cayman Compass — 2026 sargassum forecast UNAM sargassum biogas research — Mexico
Wired — The Plan to Turn the Caribbean’s Sargassum into Biofuel
Watch video here:
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Also see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4rxSz8Oze0
[Photo above is unrelated to the video described above: “Floating Sargassum in Puerto Rico” is by Loretta Roberson of Marine Biological Laboratory. See Princeton University’s Andlinger Center News for more information; readhttps://acee.princeton.edu/acee-news/transforming-troublesome-seaweed-into-a-feedstock-of-the-future/.]
The U.S. Virgin Islands faces a growing environmental and public health crisis in the form of recurring Sargassum seaweed invasions, a challenge that demands urgent, coordinated action. Regrettably, the Government of the Virgin Islands has demonstrated a persistent pattern of inaction, deflecting responsibility rather than developing meaningful, long-term solutions to protect our coastlines, our ecosystems, and our communities.
This chronic failure of leadership, compounded by ongoing concerns over governmental transparency and accountability, is no longer acceptable. The people of the U.S. Virgin Islands deserve elected officials and appointed leaders who will confront this crisis directly, allocate resources responsibly, and uphold their duty to safeguard the health, safety, and economic vitality of these islands.
We call on our government to end the cycle of delay, establish a clear and enforceable Sargassum management plan, and hold itself to the same standard of integrity it owes the public.