New Zealand delegation tours Caribbean with ideas for Sargassum influxes

By Sherrica Thompson

Staff Writer

August 20, 2022 – Delegations from the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) and the Plant and Food Research Limited (PFR) of New Zealand have recently concluded a month-long tour in the Caribbean, to gain firsthand knowledge of how the region has been coping with the persistent Sargassum problem.

The delegation visited Barbados, St Lucia, the Dominican Republic, Belize and Mexico.  The CRFM indicated that the visit was important as Sargassum influxes for the month of June hit a new historical record, underscoring the urgency of scaling up collaboration and private-public partnerships to convert Sargassum into economically viable, climate resilient products.

The tour also marked an important milestone in the New Zealand-funded Sargassum Products for Climate Resilience in the Caribbean project, which seeks to mitigate the environmental and economic impacts of Sargassum seaweed influxes in affected Caribbean countries through the creation of inclusive value chains.

Based on the information gathered during the tour and the analysis done, the CRFM has reported that it will be focusing on formulating liquid fertilisers and construction supplies from Sargassum in the region.