Updated

Updated · The Guardian · Aug 18

Miami-Dade Removed 9,000 Tons of Sargassum in July as Atlantic Belt Hit 33.5 Million Tons

Updated

Updated · The Guardian · Aug 18

Miami-Dade Removed 9,000 Tons of Sargassum in July as Atlantic Belt Hit 33.5 Million Tons

1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 18

9,000 tons of sargassum were cleared from Miami-Dade beaches in July — the county’s biggest single-month removal total on record across 17 miles of shoreline.
$3 million a year now goes to seaweed cleanup, with crews using tractors and beach-combing machines under state permit limits that protect roughly 700 sea turtle nests this season.
33.5 million tons of sargassum were detected this summer in the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt, the second-highest level on record after 2025’s 38 million tons.
Scientists link the worsening blooms to nutrient runoff from major rivers, warmer waters and climate-driven rainfall, saying the belt has doubled about every five years since 2011.
Miami-Dade commissioners already asked Florida for more flexibility on beach raking, but researchers say stronger cleanup alone will not stop a problem they increasingly call the new normal.

Sources

With sargassum blooms now self-sustaining, are South Florida beaches doomed to an endless, toxic cycle despite millions spent on cleanup?

Are coastal cities wasting millions fighting a seaweed invasion that actually originates from inland agricultural runoff thousands of miles away?

Could the decaying seaweed washing ashore harbor hidden toxins like arsenic, quietly threatening the health of summer beachgoers?

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