And like other tourist destinations near the sea, Caye Caulker is also facing its own sargassum situation. You've seen the sargassum swarm in San Pedro and Hopkins, but according to Caye Caulker's chairlady, it's a lot more manageable on the small island. She explained that with the help of a beach raker and the residents, they're able to fend off the smelly nuisance.
Seleny Villanueva Pott, Chairlady, Caye Caulker
"Caye Caulker was blessed. Towards the end of the STP2 program, we received a beach raker which came in very handy. So what we've done, we've assigned the beach raker in areas it can go. So we take it out in areas and it cleans up the different areas where it can reach. It can only reach to a certain depth because of the water. What we've done is that we've hired additional men to pile and we try to remove as quickly as possible. There are days when we see it extend out maybe six feet, however, with the machine and the man power, a collaboration of both things, we have it under control. I'm happy to say that we try our best and our guys try their best to keep it under control. We've seen pictures of other destinations that are struggling, that is not yet the case and I pray that it is not the case in Caye Caulker ever, but for now we have it under control and we hope to keep it that way. If the demand increase for man power then we will have to increase the number on the beaches."
Maria Vega, Chairlady, BTIA Caye Caulker
"I would also like to add that with the private sector, a new sargassum task force her on the island has recently been formed and they are looking at new solutions including trying to, as you know, spin this sargassum into some kind of gold yarn or something without make it pay so we have our best minds put to that right now."
"Other private citizens are seeing it as a blessing for landfill so they come and pick it up routinely on their own at their own cost and take it as landfill. So a few actions are taking place concerning sargassum."
