Since 2011, large amounts of seaweed, sargassum, have increasingly impacted the Caribbean, with 2025 having another record influx. The resulting sargassum inundation events cause severe ecological degradation, public health concerns and economic losses for coastal communities that rely heavily on tourism, like the area of Quintana Roo in Mexico.
The existing nearshore barriers often fail to intercept most of the sargassum due to poor coordination, unsuitable anchoring, poor design or excessive sargassum accumulation in “sacrificial zones.” If sargassum is allowed to stay still for more than 36 hours, it decomposes, releasing toxic gases, heavy metals and arsenic. The sacrificial zones are a problem area that all current onshore solutions share. To address this issue, this study features the design of a floating nearshore system that transforms these sacrificial zones into “opportunity zones”. It enables efficient interception and guidance, concentration, and extraction of sargassum before it reaches the shore. To attain the goal of the design, a multidisciplinary approach was applied; combining environmental and stakeholder analyses,the system design of a barrier with a collection point, and hydrodynamic simulations in Delft3D to optimize barrier orientation and performance. Different design concepts were developed and evaluated based on technical, operational, and environmental criteria. The resulting concept of the system features a modular floating barrier that guides sargassum towards a designated collection point, the opportunity zone, for extraction. This barrier is supported
by a buoyancy-stable floater, flexible mesh skirt, innovative connections and mooring system. The hydrodynamic analysis confirmed that the orientation of the barrier compared to the barrier significantly affects the flow efficiency of sargassum along the barrier. Through the hydrodynamic analysis, an optimal barrier angle was found to maximize redirection and minimize the length of the barrier. The collection point proposes a solution to collect clean sargassum, whilst minimizing the impact on the environment. This study shows that integrating civil engineering, design thinking, and local knowledge can yield a sustainable near-shore solution. It has to be noted that there are aspects of the design that need further consideration and detailing. This study forms a foundation for scalable sargassum
management. ... Read more