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In Trinidad, Martinique, manual harvesting of Sargassum (illustration image). RFI / Agnès Rougier

Cuba is not immune to Sargasso seaweed. The largest island in the Caribbean has so far been spared by the influx of brown algae and smelly, unlike the Caribbean beaches of Mexico, Guadeloupe or the Dominican Republic. Today Cuba, therefore, reports an invasion of Sargassum in the far west of the island.

With our correspondent in Havana, Domitille Piron

It is the beaches of turquoise waters and white sand of Guanahacabibes that are now invaded by Sargassum.

Since 2015 in the province of Pinar del Río, the presence of these algae was noticeable without worrying the authorities. Now there are layers of one and a half meters Sargassum that are formed in places in this "biosphere reserve".

An unprecedented amount of algae that has already caused massive fish kills and damaged the coral reef and seagrass beds, two of the most important ecosystems for underwater life.

Sargassas on these Cuban beaches have also become an obstacle for sea turtles. Four endemic species are present in this nature reserve and turtles now need the daily help of guards and researchers to find their way between the algae to spawn.

The director of the Guanahacabibes National Park speaks of an alarming situation which can be explained, according to him, by the evolution of the marine currents, but also by the nitrate discharges of the rivers in the sea.

Lazaro Marquez therefore seems to adhere to the thesis that the Sargassum invasion in the Caribbean is linked to the agricultural use of the deforested lands of the Amazon.

► Also to listen: Sargassum in Martinique, the seaweed that rotten life