What is sargassum and why is it causing major problems on some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, especially here in the Dominican Republic?
By Gigi Tea | RealtorDR
Hello I’m Gigi Tea and sargassum has been causing major issues in Punta Cana- but not so much in Sosua or Cabarete, I wanted to understand why. This post was meant to be a flex for our North Coast beaches but after I did some research on this topic, I was surprised to learn that sargassum is really mysterious and financially interesting as well.
In this post I talk about why the North Coast DR doesn’t get as much sargassum, the positive side to the phenomenon, and how the Dominican Republic has the chance to be on the cutting edge of a billion dollar industry. I’ve included links and references so you can really dive in so let’s go! If you don’t want to read, I’ve made a full youtube video that covers some of the sargassum subject here:
First off, sargassum is just brown seaweed. But since 2011, it has been forming these massive floating islands that you can actually see from space. That’s right, sargassum has become an issue in the last decade and a half, it is a phenomenon being called “new nature” and it comes with some unforeseen consequences, promising benefits, and inconvenient truths.
The sargassum is called the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt (GASB) and it just floats through the ocean and eventually washes up on some of the most beautiful shorelines in the Caribbean Sea, Tropical Atlantic Ocean, and Gulf of Mexico. This means picturesque beaches like in Punta Cana, Tulum, Barbados, Martinique and Miami Beach all getting blanketed by seaweed that gets stinky and overwhelming to control.
This is a photo of Playa Lucia in Puerto Rico in May 2025.
This is a good moment to *knock on wood* because although the North Coast is not AS affected by seaweed as Punta Cana or Samana, nature can always surprise us so let’s not get too boastful here 🙂
Why isn’t the North Coast of the DR affected by the sargassum problem?
The North coast isn’t as affected by sargassum for one of the same reasons this country is naturally protected by hurricanes! There is a body of water on the eastern coast called the mona passage- right between Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic. The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt comes from the south east and the naturally strong currents in the Mona Passage tend to drive the massive seaweed belt either North or South, pushing it away from our Northern Coast. This same geographical blessing also pushes storms away from the DR which you can learn about in this post about Hurricanes in the DR.
Punta Cana is located in the far east of the island and thus, cannot escape being the final resting ground for a lot of the seaweed. The Ministry of Tourism and the private sector is heavily invested in Punta Cana so many beaches took action. In order to combat the issue in Punta Cana, they did install these floating walls that mostly keep the sargassum from washing up on the shore.
In 2018, the cost of trying to clean up the sargassum in the Caribbean was about $120 million USD, and that does not include the loss of tourism. There is a great informational website tracking the efforts to deal with sargassum here in the Dominican Republic here.
We Have No Idea Why the Sargassum Blooms Keep Happening.
A lot more research is necessary in order to know exactly why this sargassum started happening since 2011. Scientists are calling it the “million dollar question” you can read more here in this article by the Guardian.
But what we do know so far is that this dense mat of floating seaweed in the ocean provides a habitat for birds, turtles, fish, crabs, shrimp, and other invertebrates—so it could be a good thing! There is lots of research showing how seaweed beds help sequester carbon in the ocean so this helps cool the planet. Sargassum is a good thing however, once it gets to the shore scientists say it can smother reefs and the creatures living in the algae get picked off by birds.
Is Sargassum Useful?
As always, where some people see a problem, a lot of other people see an opportunity, a BILLION dollar oppourtunity. Sargassum has a lot of really cool uses. Some are using sargassum as a natural resource—for things like compost where it shows 10%-14% boost in growth, biofuel, livestock feed, part of chemical processes, and to create cosmetics, medicine, or health supplements. Seaweed is being used to manufacture things like paper, building materials, and bioplastics. Companies are using sargassum to make bricks for low-cost homes or using it for wastewater treatment in local communities. It seems the possibilities are endless! In this article by The Guardian, you can read about how the Caribbean country of Grenada, also known for being a hub of medicine and science, is looking to partner up with a company to turn their sargassum problem into a full blown industry.
So all of this begs the question,
What is the Dominican Republic doing to turn this problem into profit?
Currently the Ministry of Tourism is trying to get together $12 million USD, $6 million of which are coming from the government itself, and the other $6 million from the private sector. Read more in this article in Dominican Today. In February 2025, the Ministry of Tourism gave a University $1 million USD to do research on sargassum as well.
In 2023, Dominican Republic was exporting sargassum to Finland based company Origin by Ocean which uses it to create materials for cosmetics, textiles, and foods. While there is definitely lots of money in the export industry, should the Dominican Republic follow in Grenada’s footsteps? Maybe by partnering up with a private company to make use of sargassum right here in our country, we can make lemons out of lemonade and create more jobs and oppourtunity for the Dominican people.
While a lot of research still needs to be done so we know what it is we’re going to do with all the sargassum washing up on the beaches, it’s safe to say that if you don’t want sargassum to ruin your beach day, come visit us in the north coast of the Dominican Republic.
If you like my informative posts make sure to follow my Instagram page www.instagram.com/gigitea.rd and of course if you have any questions about living or investing in the Dominican Republic send me an email [email protected]