(Barbados Nation): Barbadian fishermen stand to reap real rewards from the influx of the Sargassum seaweed plaguing the beaches.
As the brown macroalgae continues to litter shores, Minister of Maritime Affairs Kirk Humphrey said there was money to be made in the collection of seaweed.
“We have to find a way to use the Sargassum and the fish that it brings, but we also have to stop the Sargassum because fishermen said that some of the seaweed is getting into their boats and affecting their fishing.
“But there are some people who are prepared to pay fishermen, to ‘fish’ the Sargassum out of the water. So if that is something the fishing industry is interested in we can develop a relationship where we can start using the fishermen to help us . . . and then we would use that to help us make methanol, methane gas, and fertiliser,” Humphrey said.
He did not disclose who would be buying the seaweed, but said more details would follow
