Considering a relaxing beach vacation in Florida anytime soon? You might want to save those miles for another day. It might sound like something out of the 10 plagues, but a massive blob of seaweed, better known as sargassum, has made landfall on once pristine South Florida beaches. That’s right—a 5,000-mile wide blob that weighs approximately 10 million pounds, has taken over your vacation beaches. What does this mean for you? Scroll down to find out.
What is sargassum?
Sargassum is a collective term for more than 300 types of brown algae seaweed that often floats in large clumps in the ocean. The algae provide food and protection for fish, mammals, marine birds, crabs and other ocean organisms.
What's the big deal?
A giant floating blob of sargassum may sound like a huge problem for the southern beaches of Florida, but this type of seaweed is actually pretty common, and most beaches aren’t seeing any more wash-up ashore than in previous years.
Where will you find sargassum in Florida?
Places like Marathon Beach and Key West report an abundance of the slimy seaweed on their shores.
Is there anything worse than encountering floating sargassum?
The blob-like brown seaweed might not be the most beautiful thing to cover white sandy beaches, but it’s unfortunately not the biggest deterrent caused by its landfall. Decaying seaweed on the beach emits a pretty foul odor (think rotten eggs) and can irritate the eyes, nose and throat. Beachgoers, you have been warned.