RESEARCH & INNOVATION
Kristie Alleyne PhD student World Maritime University, Sweden
Jeanelle Irvine CERMES’ postgraduate student
But while the authorities may take this into consideration in formulating their management plan, it has been suggested that they utilise best practices during in-water harvesting of the algae associated with Sargassum rafts in Barbados. This recommendation is based on the findings of research conducted by a five-member team led by PhD student with the World Maritime University in Sweden, Kristie Alleyne . They conducted 35 underwater surveys and observed 13 species of which 12 were fishes. The researcher noted that apart from comb jellies and the Sargassum frogfish, all other species observed were consumed within the Barbados fishery. “Overall, we found there is a low species diversity associated with pelagic Sargassum arriving in Barbados. The majority of the species associated with incoming Sargassum mats are utilised within the Barbados fishery sectors. And there is a strong association between sargassum rafts and species biodiversity and abundance that will need to be considered by managers when seeking the best compromise between protecting beaches from inundation and protecting biodiversity as well as fishing opportunities.” Alleyne said the study provides the first insight for the Eastern Caribbean on the free-swimming fauna (species that swim inside and beneath floating Sargassum). As another significant achievement, the methods utilised in the study were used to develop a monitoring protocol that can be used elsewhere to track the variability of Sargassum rafts.
” adverse economic impacts related to decreased demand should be expected in Barbados and other Caribbean destinations. Those impacts will increase with the level of Sargassum arriving on beaches and in seawater. But Sargassum will not affect the entire visitor population.” T o support her argument, she said Sargassum predominantly arrives from March to October when tourist arrivals are lower, it generally affects the windward coastlines where there are lower levels of infrastructure and fewer tourists, and not all visitors spend time at the beach. Citing previous studies on beach use, which found that between 170,000 and 204,000 visitors could potentially encounter Sargassum during their stay in Barbados, she estimated that between 17,000 to 41,000 visitors may not return. “The prospect of increased Sargassum has a negative and highly significant impact on willingness to return. However, tourists who viewed Sargassum during their stay are more sensitive in their willingness to return only if the conditions involving the highest Sargassum increase scenarios (50 per cent to 90 per cent). Impacts on willingness to return are larger for visitors who viewed a lot of Sargassum versus those who saw a little,” said Irvine. “If current trends of Sargassum influxes continue,
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