SEAWEEDS: The unlikely gem of Caribbean Tourism

Author: John Wetherill
Date: 26th December, 2019

The Caribbean has a special sense of warmth, creativity and tenacity that keeps bringing people from all over the globe back to its friendly arms. In recent years, due to the emergence of the world wide web and with progression, social media, now more than ever we are enlightened by new opportunities to promote a creation we have been toiling on for 50 plus years. However, this is not the only development that comes with the present time. With newfound opportunities comes newly found challenges. One of our challenges come in the form of a living organism that makes its way from the centre of the Atlantic, to the coastlines of Brazil, to OUR gleaming blue water shores. We have known of it for many years but have often decided it is not an item worth properly pursuing… until now. This is the Sargassum Seaweed and what we do not realise is that sargassum could be the unique gem we can harvest to revolutionise the Caribbean’s tourism industry.

Many of us have heard in our homes, our children in their schools or glancing through a newspaper; about the plant that is slowing become a nuisance toCaribbean Tourism and in extension our lives. The beaches we once enjoyed are covered in a brown shrubs with a stench that travels for miles. For some of us, we know of fishermen and tourism workers who sometimes found it hard to endure dealing with the seaweed as they go about just trying to do their jobs. But what are we really doing to get rid of it? Why is it such a problem now? Does it even have any benefits?This is where a sense of perspective is important. Sargassum is labelled the bad one, the problem child, the bull in the china shop. And rightfully so. It destroys many marine ecosystems and causes an assortment of implications for islanders but it is really not this organism’s fault. The fault is left with man. The human race. For not being diligent enough to realise we are hurting our planet. Due to the cutting down of trees in the Amazon and pollutive practices in other areas we now have weakened the ocean currents (ocean drivers) that once protected us and have created the perfect incubator of eco havoc. But we already knew this.

If we condition our minds to focus on stepping away from ‘getting rid of sargassum’, we have some amazing opportunities for sustainability, new circular economies/industries, and true evolution into Eco-Tourism. Sargassum should not be a problem but a solution to ways we can improve the value of our Tourism brands. Embedding seaweed into the fibre of our Tourism identity could mean new attractions, new jobs and new local industries. What if we no longer had to import souvenirs from China but acquiring them was as easy as going to your local warehouse plant? What if we were able to transform beaches into ways we were able to tell our island’s stories through an attraction? What if you were given the tools and materials to design your part of the Tourism Industry? How would it look?

All in all, Sargassum does not plan to go anywhere but will increase its pressure on beaches and marine life around our islands for many years to come. Many are seeing this situation and are starting to do something about it. However, it is important to broaden our perspectives. If we do this right, this could mean opportunities for new jobs, new products, new attractions and new cultural identities that will enhance each country's brand with clearer distinction. The SEAWEEDS Brand is an organisation that aims to do such. We are committed to finding revolutionary, forward thinking, circular solutions that will have real impact on the way Tourism is done in the Caribbean through the elevation of eco-tourism.