13 NOV 2018: It carpets water, clogs beaches, rots and stinks. Sargassum – a type of seaweed – is a massive problem in the Caribbean as it shows up in unprecedented quantities and in places it never has before.

Having first surfaced as an issue in 2011, the “golden floating rainforest,” which has been measured at seven metres of depth in some places, has spread steadily, though intermittently, and proved particularly potent on the eastern shores of Caribbean islands. Some officials fear 2018 may be the worst year yet.

Beyond the mess, the deluge is costly to clean up, harms fish and wildlife, hampers water-based industries like fishing, and discourages tourism (some resorts have even been forced to temporarily close while cleaning up). The government of Barbados this summer went so far as to consider the influx on its shores and in its waters a national emergency

Belize is the latest nation to be affected, prompting the Belize Tourism Board (BTB), in conjunction with the country’s Sargassum Task Force, to study and consult with stakeholders and ultimately introduce a series of measures designed to help find a long-term strategy to address the problem and in the short term assist properties most affected by sargassum.

They include:

• A 2% reduction from the 9% hotel tax due from October to January, which is a 22.2% reduction on the monthly accommodation tax returns, for properties in the four affected destinations of San Pedro, Caye Caulker, Placencia and Hopkins.
• The government has agreed that coastline properties in the four affected destinations wishing to import sargassum materials and equipment/machinery, can apply for duty exemption from the Ministry of Finance through the BTB.
• The federal government has agreed to contribute $1.5 million to assist the municipal bodies in San Pedro, Caulker, Placencia and Hopkins in the containment and control of sargassum.

The BTB says the measures will help impacted properties and destinations that have faced increased operational costs in their clean-up efforts, disposal of sargassum, implementing barriers and in beach reclamation efforts.

And the efforts won’t end there, the tourist board says, vowing to continue to demonstrate “an unwavering commitment” to helping protect the country’s tourism industry.

Unfortunately, in Belize, and elsewhere, the cause of the bloom is still unknown, though climate change and pollution are prime suspects, and for now, both governments and individual stakeholders are tasked with fighting a battle in which they currently see no end.