A new study has quantified, in US dollar terms, the impact of sargassum seaweed inundation events across US coastal regions.
The new study, by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the University of Rhode Island, quantified the sargassum damage in the millions of dollars, potentially rising to $1 billion.
The study found that the economic damage affects Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands and Florida’s Atlantic coast. The study was funded by NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) Competitive Research Program.
Commenting on the study, Di Jin, a senior scientist at the Marine Policy Center at WHOI, and the lead author on the study, stated:
“Understanding the economic scale of sargassum impacts is essential for informed decision-making. Our findings provide resource managers with evidence-based estimates that can guide investments in forecasting, response, and long-term mitigation strategies. As the Atlantic continues to change, we’re seeing cascading effects that directly connect offshore ocean processes to coastal economic vulnerability. This study links those large-scale environmental drivers to real-world economic consequences.”
While the NCCOS Director Sean Corson added:
“NCCOS’ partnership with WHOI underscores the value of applied science in delivering actionable information for coastal managers, from guiding investments in effective Sargassum response and cleanup strategies to helping communities protect livelihoods, tourism, and long-term economic resilience.”
On the other hand, Tracey Dalton, a professor of Marine Affairs at URI and the lead principal investigator of the URI-WHOI collaborative project on assessing societal impacts of harmful macroalgae blooms in the Caribbean, stated:
“While the ecological and public health impacts of sargassum inundation events (SIEs) have been widely documented…their direct and indirect economic costs to governments, coastal communities, and private industries had not previously been quantified.”
Dalton added, referencing the results:
“These results highlight the urgency of sustained investment in sargassum monitoring, forecasting, and cleanup infrastructure. Without proactive management, the economic consequences for coastal communities will continue to escalate.”
