Sargassum seaweed is back for the new year at Crane Beach in St Philip.
On Sunday afternoon the area, with its world-renowned stretch of beach and pristine white sands, was sparsely populated by tourists. Mounds of seaweed had piled up on the sand brought by the constant crashing of waves.
The only locals in sight were vendors.
One of them, Neville Best, said that it was unusual to see the seaweed at this time of the year.
“You usually see the seaweed a bit later after Christmas, but it’s unusual to see this much of it now. It could be one of the reasons why you’re not seeing many locals out and about right now. It was worse actually, but the waves were washing some of the seaweed back offshore,” he said.
In June last year, when the seaweed problem was highlighted in the Midweek Nation, management of the Crane Resort said they had been battling it for years, as the algae, which has been impacted the island in large volumes since 2011, came and went with the flow and ebb of the tides.
General manager Christopher Forbes said then the situation was manageable and they had been taking steps, including using a tractor to rake up some of it. (JK)