It has become for evident that the most effective way of dealing with the influx of seaweed is to do so out in the ocean. Out at sea, the seaweed is not harmful to the marine life has the various fish and turtles can swim underneath it. When it reaches land is were majority of the problems are encountered.

Some challenges faced when seaweed reaches the coast:

• Decaying smell
• Entanglement of wildlife
• Covering of turtle nesting grounds
• Damage to the tourism/hotel industry

Challenges in cleaning after seaweed reaches the coast:

• Logistics of getting heavy equipment onto the beach
• Erosion of the beach by said equipment
• Damage to turtle nesting grounds
• Unsustainable to be constantly clearing the beaches

The Idea

Having barges out at sea, seasonally, to skim the ocean surface and store (for now) the seaweed would be a justifiable change to our ocean views if it meant significantly alleviating the woes caused by seaweed reaching land.

It's been a few years now and this plight has been felt by numerous other Caribbean nations. The benefit of this is there as been a multitude of stakeholders brainstorming ideas to deal with this matter which we should take advantage of.

Below are resources with water skimming boats/rigs that can aid with some research:

• http://www.navalu.fr/seaweed-sargassum-collecting-barge-vessel-algae-navalu
• https://dominicantoday.com/dr/economy/2018/02/19/rig-aims-to-rescue-eastern-coasts-swamped-by-seaweed/
• http://theoceancleaner.org/sargaboat-sargassum-harvester/

The Cost

I'm sure money is already being put aside by our government to help tackle this issue, but has our PM rightfully states on occasion: "Many hands make light work".

Further contribution from the public can do nothing but help in this matter. I have the utmost confidence that if my fellow Barbadians and visitors alike, were asked to contribute whatever they could, not another compulsory tax, but genuinely asked to help, they would indeed donate to cause that is so clearly is in our collective best interests.

This endeavour would need to be highly visible and fun to be effective. A realistic accounting of the associated costs of ,at the very least, purchasing a barge (one to start, or a fleet of 3; the government would know better than me on that matter) would need to be shared with the public. A metered goal can be shared of the amount needed to and a website (even a facebook, as it's free) that continually fills the metre as funds are achieved. Radio and television to prompt people to be proud to give to this cause and even hoteliers can do the same with visitors.

Donation "centres" for the public could be supermarkets, post office, schools, where ever makes sense.

Considerations

Please please please, do not fall into the same pitfalls as others and have physical people at these donation centres or on the road asking for money like they are begging. This has a negative psychological affect and is distasteful as societies have been inundated by various causes and made to feel like they are being guilt-ed into giving their money up (which is the opposite feeling that we are trying to achieve).

It would also help to curb any abusers (because there is always someone looking to make a buck, and it's naive not to account for them) who would walk around asking for money for this particular cause as pretense, as no one should asking you on the road to hand over money.

All requests should be made over the news, radio, papers indicating clearly the location of official centres were they can leave donations in clearly marked boxes.

Be aware that this tactic is a push that can't be used in quick succession. Just like sugar cane crop grounds need time to recover, a drive like this risks losing it's appeal quite quickly if abused. If this is used and is successful, it would be detrimental to quickly jump to another cause and ask people to contribute. It needs time to rest and allow people to enjoy the good deed they have accomplished.

by Ian Freer 

Acquire a few Sargassum cleaning boats to capture/harvest the weed in the ocean before it makes landfall. A few booms could be strategically placed to assist in allowing the boats to be more effective.

Acquire Surf Rakes to clean up the beaches without denuding them. 

The collected seaweed will then be processed to make fertilizer for use in local agriculture or possible export.

This will create more jobs within the Blue Economy, boost the agricultural sector inc. Organic farming and possibly increase foreign exchange earnings.

http://theoceancleaner.org/sargaboat-sargassum-harvester/

http://en.syrennis.com/

https://www.elastec.com/products/floating-boom-barriers/invasive-aquatic-plant/beach-bouncer/

http://www.hbarber.com/Cleaners/SurfRake/HowItWorks.html

by Kevin Weekes