We are definitely seeing a large amount of sargassum seaweed around the island, but thankfully it is not affecting any of the most popular beaches here on St. John.
Sargassum is a type of seaweed that floats in large masses in the ocean. It’s a brownish, copper-like color, and it has air-filled bladders which helps it stay afloat on the water’s surface. Sargassum affects St. John every year, and we typically see more of it as the water starts to warm up prior to the summer months.
St. John’s winds typically blow from east to west. Most of St. John’s most popular beaches – Caneel, Hawksnest, Trunk, Cinnamon and Maho – face either north or west. This means that the sargassum usually blows right by these beaches. It rarely piles up on any of them. St. Thomas, however, has more of a problem with the sargassum clogging up its beaches, as the Ritz Carlton, Margaritaville and Sapphire all face east. The sargassum floats right onto those beaches, and when it dries up, it can get quite stinky.
All of this being said, I have seen a large amount of sargassum around St. John over the past several days. Coral Bay is filled with it at the moment. Fish Bay has a large amount of it too. I haven’t been out to John’s Folly in over a week, but it usually pools up there too. I’ve seen smaller pockets of it just off of the north shore beaches, in Rendezvous Bay, which faces south, and other spots around St. John.
So why are we seeing more sargassum lately, and why it is forecasted to get even worse this year? Well that can all be blamed on climate change. The higher temperatures in the Caribbean have the ability to impact sargassum levels, according to scientists at the University of South Florida Optical Oceanography Lab. Click here to learn more about their research.
Sargassum typically comes and goes throughout the summer months. As I mentioned, it is not currently affecting any of the island’s most popular beaches. If it starts to, I will definitely let you know.
Click here to view St. John’s webcams.
Want to learn more about St. John? Take an island tour with me!
Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour
See the island of St. John with a resident. See the nooks and crannies that many visitors miss. Explore the beaches, historical sites, perhaps a tiki bar or two, and much more. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.