Sargassum, the brown algae commonly found in the Sargasso Sea region of the mid-Atlantic, has inundated shorelines in the Virgin Islands and around the region in recent weeks.
“It is actually appearing as far south as Trinidad,” said Shannon Gore, a marine biologist in the Conservation and Fisheries Department. “It’s kind of a weird, potentially bad, climate-change effect.”
Increased levels of sargassum have been seen as far east as Sierra Leone, on the west coast of Africa, Ms. Gore said.
The dense seaweed can clog boat engines’ propellers and intake valves, said Chris Juredin, of Commercial Dive Services.
“It’s causing overheating: I’m sure it’s the same for everyone,” he said. Sargassum has been abundant in VI waters for about eight weeks, he said, but it has been particularly dense in the past two.
See the Sept. 22, 2011 edition for full coverage.