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Local resident urges officials not to rake sargassum, warns heavier flows possible this summer
Summary
At the May 13 South Padre Island task force meeting, resident Tommy J. Saenz said current sargassum accumulations are light but NOAA outlooks show potential heavy influxes later this summer and urged the city to avoid raking beach seaweed.
Tommy J. Saenz, a local resident, told the South Padre Island Coastal Management Task Force on May 13 that recent sargassum on local beaches has so far been light but that a NOAA outlook indicates the Eastern Caribbean and western Atlantic could see unusually high concentrations later this summer.
Saenz said he prepares a daily surf report and has observed shoreline changes where incoming sargassum “buries the sand and the waves push more” and that he’s “already seen at least about a 10 degree slope.” He told the task force the seaweed can benefit beach-building processes and provide nutrients for coastal wildlife, and he urged staff not to mechanically rake the material: “please don't rake it. Let mother nature do its thing.”
Task force members asked for a copy of the NOAA map. A member of the public said staff would send the NOAA PDF and map to the task force for their records.
Saenz also said the NOAA map he reviewed showed regions marked “red and intense” for sargassum concentrations and that much of the heavy flow tends to move toward Corpus Christi because of coastline shape. He closed by thanking the task force for their work.
The comment was made during the meeting’s public-comment period and is not a policy action; no formal action or vote followed the statement.
