Sargassum
Every year, the Texas coastline and the Gulf of Mexico are affected by sargassum landings. Sargassum is a type of brown seaweed that originates in the Sargasso Sea, a region of the North Atlantic Ocean, and travels the Atlantic by currents. The Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea often see the results of sargassum blooms when the seaweed makes landing on the beaches in these areas. Warm water and extra nutrients cause larger blooms of sargassum, creating large free-floating mats.
These sargassum mats become home, food, breeding ground, and nursery habitat for many species of marine animals. Upon landing on the beach, the sargassum provides sand with the ability to build up and further protect from erosion. For these reasons, the Park Board will only relocate sargassum in times of extreme inundation and when the threshold outlined by the permit is met.
Learn more about sargassum...
NOAA: What is Sargassum?
National Park Service: Sargassum