Scientists Say Record Amount of Seaweed Hit the Caribbean and Nearby Areas in May

Scientists Say Record Amount of Seaweed Hit the Caribbean and Nearby Areas in May
Piles of sargassum stretch across the shore in Playa Lucía, Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, Monday, June 2, 2025. Alejandro Granadillo/AP Photo
The Associated Press
Updated:
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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico—A record amount of sargassum piled up across the Caribbean and nearby areas in May, and more is expected this month, according to a new report.

The brown prickly algae is suffocating shorelines from Puerto Rico to Guyana and beyond, disrupting tourism, killing wildlife and even releasing toxic gases that forced one school in the French Caribbean island of Martinique to temporarily close.