Dear Dear Neighbor,
In our first year of operation, the HMB Sargassum Project achieved some important successes and learned from a number of significant challenges. Now that 2023 is coming to a close, it’s time to report on our accomplishments and present key project improvements that are already in the works for 2024. Please visit our website to read our complete 2023 Annual Report or review the Executive Summary copied below.
If you own beachfront property in the sargassum High Impact Zone (HIZ), please watch your Inbox for a second communication about 2024 barrier operations. We need property owners in the HIZ to commit to covering 2024 operating expenses before the end of this year. So the second email includes a sign-up form we’ll ask you to submit ASAP.
If you have further questions about the Annual Report, please reach out to any of us at the phone numbers below.
HMB Sargassum Committee
<hmbsargassumproject@gmail.com>
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Lisa Wilson (Casa Fortuna)
+1(202) 905-6103
Peter Swenson (Mi Casa del Mar)
+1(303) 903-6234
Ron Stern (Villa de los Sueños)
+1(949) 678-9102
Liane Perry (La Bahia)
+1(603) 930-4135
Arturo Orozco (Casa Orozco)
+52(906) 866-3000
Alex Malison (Casa Fortuna)
+1(202) 905-6100
Steve Hamilton (Playa Blanca)
+1(303) 884-5961
Marieke Brown (La Tortuga)
+52(984) 105-8475
HMB Sargassum Project: 2023 Annual Report
Executive Summary
The HMB Sargassum Project aims to create a “Sargassum Free Zone” along Half Moon Bay by:
DEPLOYING a sargassum barrier to deflect at least 70% of incoming sargassum,
and by
RELYING on beachfront property owners to manage any "Residual Sargassum"
that gets past the barrier and reaches the shore
Our 2023 Annual Report compares these two goals with outcomes actually achieved during our first year of operations. It details how the project was developed in accordance with government guidelines (as confirmed in this Aviso from SEMARNAT) and explains why we’re confident the HMB Sargassum Project can create a Sargasso Free Zone along Half Moon Bay in 2024…and beyond.
Although the barrier was installed three months after the start of Sargassum Season, we achieved Five (5) Key Successes and gained much needed hands-on experience in addressing each of the challenges that set us back. In fact, the most important section of this report details the concrete measures we’ve already put in place to ensure that NONE of these Five (5) Challenges set us back again in 2024.
Barrier operator, EcoProteccion Akumal (EPA) is now fully prepared for the 2024 Sargassum Season and has put a plan in place that dovetails exactly with directives in an important new government publication titled “A Comprehensive Strategy for the Management and Use of Sargassum” (referred to in Spanish as “EIMAS”). The main work that remains in 2023 is to engage as many HIZ property owners as possible in a commitment to:
PAY affordable monthly service fees for deflecting at least 70% of incoming sargassum away from their beachfront
FOLLOW EIMAS government guidelines in managing any “Residual Sargassum” that might reach their beach
Without sufficient financial commitments to cover EPA's Projected Operating Expense, the barrier cannot be re-installed for the 2024 Sargassum Season. We cannot risk running out of funds if dangerous weather conditions suddenly require an emergency removal, etc.
Our community has invested of over USD $400,000 in a sargassum mitigation plan that is ready to bear fruit in 2024. There is no other realistic sargassum mitigation plan on the horizon. The HMB Sargassum Project represents Akumal Norte’s last, best chance to create a “Sargassum Free Zone” along Half Moon Bay.
