Tourism stakeholders anxious as Tobago’s sargassum seaweed crisis worsens

President of the Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association (THTA), Reginald MacLean, says despite spending over a quarter-million dollars to fight Sargassum seaweed, the crisis is only getting worse.

And he’s now calling on the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) and Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to step in, as his association joins a multi-million-dollar UNDP partnership to combat the problem.

He says the seaweed is not just an eyesore; it is driving visitors away, narrowing beaches, and draining business owners, who are forced to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep shorelines clean.

MacLean is asking for partnership before Tobago’s tourism reputation is damaged beyond repair.

He says he is grateful for the UNDP’s assistance of US$25 million in funding via Japan.

“Speyside, Tobago, to be exact, is where part of that funding will be spent, which is where we are located,” he said.  “Part of that is 1,000 meters of sargassum boom; aluminium barge with a conveyor belt, etc; baskets to put it into trucks; and trucks to dump the stuff. And again, a maintenance program to keep all the all the equipment running.”

But it’s not just hotels feeling the pressure.

President of the All Tobago Fisherfolk Association, Curtis Douglas, says the seaweed is destroying boat engines, cutting into daily catches, and making it harder for fishermen to earn a living.

“It damages your fishing, and it’s very difficult to catch fish around it because sometimes your line picks up stuff … So, you can’t get as much as you would like to earn during the day. It lessens your profit when the day comes …  It is a high risk when it comes down in large portion like this,” he said.

Both stakeholders believe seaweed is no longer just a seasonal nuisance, but an economic and environmental crisis that is in need of immediate national attention.