What this is
Galveston crews carefully remove smelly seaweed from beaches while protecting marine wildlife that lives in it.
Seaweed, or sargassum, amounts on Galveston shorelines have hit a threshold high enough for Galveston Park Board crews to relocate the piles that have been building up over the past few weeks.
According to the park board, crews are required by federal guidelines to wait on relocating the sargassum until it hits an average height accumulation of 2.5 feet or higher and a ground cover width of 10 feet or more. At that point, crews can move the sargassum off the shoreline and to the dune area closer to the Galveston Seawall.
"We had an inundation that came in right during this week and because of that new landing, it did take us over those guideline measurements so that we can go ahead and move it into the dunes," Chris Stanley with the Galveston Park Board said.
The sargassum, which is a specific type of brown seaweed found along the Gulf, works as a natural protector of the dune areas and helps to build up the beach, according to Stanley.
Stanley said it was a happy coincidence that crews got the "go-ahead" to clean up the sargassum before Memorial Day weekend.
Stanley said crews make sure to be careful of those habitats while relocating the sargassum.
Read full text
The seaweed often creates a smell that beachgoers find unpleasant. According to the NOAA, sargassum decomposing on the beach produces hydrogen sulfide, a gas that smells like rotten eggs, which can cause respiratory irritation.
According to a social media post by Hal Needham, who is an extreme weather scientist based in Galveston, high amounts of seaweed washing in can create problems for the fishing industry, boating, water intake or drainage infrastructure and tourism. However, Needham said it also provides a habitat and breeding grounds for fish and marine animals.
"You can find shrimp, mole crabs, seahorses and sea beans inside the seaweed so it’s actually very interesting to see and to kind of dig through and we do try to protect the wildlife that’s there as much as possible as we’re moving seaweed back into the dunes," Stanley said.
According to Stanley, park board crews have worked the last few days and will continue to work through the weekend to get the seaweed relocated to the dune areas.
Key details
- Topic: Galveston Beach Seaweed Management
- Trigger point: Seaweed piles 2.5 feet high and 10 feet wide
- Benefits: Cleaner beaches, protected marine life, stronger dunes
- Reading time: 2 minutes
Where it reaches
- Phone
- 14888184115
Available across Houston.
Why it matters
Galveston's seaweed cleanup makes your family beach trips more enjoyable by removing smelly piles while still protecting sea creatures and strengthening our coastline naturally.
How to dig in
- 1Start with the snapshot above to know what this is in a glance.
- 2Read through to understand how it connects to the bigger picture.
- 3Read more using the button above.
When you call, you can say: “Hi, I saw "Galveston Beach Seaweed Cleanup Program" on Community Exchange and want to know how to take part.”
By the numbers
Led byHouston Public Media
Counted from the Community Exchange connection graph.