The Sargassum Podcast

In this episode, we delve into the current situation of Sargassum and its impact on Curaçao. Our guest, Luisa Flechas, a chemical engineer and business developer at the TNO Energy and Materials Transition Unit, shares her insights and involvement in the TNO Living Lab project, which aims to continue with a proposal to continue working with all the challenges with Sargassum.

01:34 Current situation of Sargassum by Fran

03:00  introducing our guest Luisa Flecha

04:10 What is Sargasso for Luisa

06:00 The involvement of TNO finding solutions to the Sargassum problem

07:07 How Luisa is contribute to Sargassum work

08:45 Luisas role on working in Curaçao

10:00 Stages of the project

13:25 Changing to biofuel in Curacao

15:44 Thoughts of Luisa of how Sargassum is affecting Curaçao

18:13 Next steps

22:00 Thoughts about the episode by Fran and Jenna

Relevant links:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lflechas/

TNO:

Website: https://www.tno.nl/en/

Fb: https://www.facebook.com/TNOresearch/

Twitter https://twitter.com/TNO_nieuws

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tno.innovation/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tno/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/TNOResearch

The Sargassum Podcast is made possible through funding by the Resilience, Sustainable Energy, and Marine Biodiversity Programme (RESEMBID). Financed under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories Regional Programme, RESEMBID is being implemented by Expertise France, with the primary stakeholders being the 12 Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories.

In this episode, Vicky, an aquatic ecologist, and Philip, a marine science researcher, discuss the current situation of Sargassum in Ghana and its impact on people's lives, exploring the impact of Sargassum on both ecosystems and society, and offering their different research perspectives and approaches.

05:40: What is Sargassum for Vicky

06:55  What is Sargassum for Phillip

07:30 Phillip explaining the current situation with Sargassum in Ghana

10:20 The impacts on people's lives in Ghana

11:52 VIcky expanding the perceptions of Sargassum for

13:12  Recreational and cultural role of beaches in Ghana

14:35 The impacts on fisheries in Ghana

16:45 How does this modify the dynamic of fishery

17:20 What SARTRAC is?

21:30 The involvement of local people in SARTRAC

23:48 The future steps/goals for SARTRAC

28:10 GIS and citizen science to monitor Sargassum

30:15 Stable isotopes and Sargassum

35:45 Working with the community's actions

37:20 Thoughts about the episode by Fran and Jenna

This podcast is made possible thanks to the financial support of the Title 6 grant from the Kimberly Green Latin American Caribbean Center (LACC). This podcast is produced by Mario Garcia Rodriguez and your hosts today were Fran and Jenna

03:50 Fran introducing our guests

05:47 What is Sargassum for Sabine

06:30 What is Sargassum for Jessica 

08:00 How Bonaire is impacted by Sargassum

10:36 The management evolved since the arrival of Sargassum in Bonaire and people through citizen science got involved

13:23 How does the Sargassum influx affect Lac Bay? 

15:13 Lac Bay is a very  culturally important 

16:55 When Sargassum enters, the mangrove starts to slowly die

19:11 How the net to capture Sargassum works 

21:10 The origin of the Sargassum that arrives in Bonaire 

22:00 An important concern: the Sargassum that arrives is enriched in heavy metals 

23:00 The Morphotypes and composition that arrive 

25:50 How the seagrass is affected by Sargassum

28:55 The work of the mangrove maniacs

31:00 The consultancy work of Coastal Dynamics

34:55 The Tropical Restoration Network: Workshops along the Caribbean  

42:12 Thoughts about the episode by Fran, Jenna, and Pao

The Sargassum Podcast is made possible through funding by the Resilience, Sustainable Energy, and Marine Biodiversity Programme (RESEMBID). Financed under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories Regional Programme, RESEMBID is being implemented by Expertise France, with the primary stakeholders being the 12 Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories.

Relevant links:

Mangrove Maniacs:

Website: https://www.facebook.com/mangrovemaniacsbonaire/

Fb: Mangrove maniac website https://mangrovemaniacs.org/

Insta: https://www.instagram.com/mangrovemaniacsbonaire/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mangrove-maniacs-bonaire/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3UvaHNHxv2dlj8N4h4Qzzg

Jessica:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coastal.dynamics/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoastalDynamicsBonaire

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/67708572

Juan y Andrea trabajan en BioPlaster, una compañía de investigación y desarrollo tecnológico que nace para enfrentar la gran cantidad de Sargazo que llega al Mar Caribe. En esta entrevista ellos nos cuentan cómo están utilizando el Sargazo para convertirlo en bioplástico y el proceso que ha llevado con temas de Gestión de esta problemática.

Jeff Davis, of the Georgia Institute of Technology, has brought together a team of undergraduates to work on this “grand challenge”. The group of young engineers and biologists traveled to the Dominican Republic to understand the scale of the problem and try to find solutions. Dr. Jeff Davis is Associate Professor School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology and Ciera Hudson is a mechanical engineering student at Georgia Institute of Technology. Also, Jeff explain us about an amazing project using black soldier flies to process Sargassum into fuel.

From September 2022-Februrary, 2023, a multidisciplinary team of stakeholders in Montserrat comprised of government and civil society representatives was

In this episode we interviewed Yasa and Lavern. Yasa is the project manager for the Sustainable sargassum management in Anguilla, British Virgin Islands and

01:00 Introducing the guests

03:50 what is Sargassum for our guests

05:40 How are people in Montserrat affected by Sargassum

07:20 Handleding Sargassum in Monserrat

08:15 Sargassum on the beach

09:05 Implementation of the Sargassum Management Plans

10:00 Steps of the training for the plan management implementation

12:30 Talking of the plan strategies

16:30 Strategies to storage the Sargassum

22:00 Organization of workshops held in Montserrat

23:40 Training local people in Monserrat

27:00 highlighting the current situation of Sargassum in the islands

28:25 important tools to manage Sargassum

29:50 The use of drones to monitoring Sargassum

38:00 Evelyn and Jenna's thoughts as hosts in this interview

The Sargassum Podcast is made possible through funding by the Resilience, Sustainable Energy and Marine Biodiversity Programme (RESEMBID). Financed under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories Regional Programme, RESEMBID is being implemented by Expertise France, with the primary stakeholders being the 12 Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories.

Relevant links

https://www.facebook.com/CANARICARIBBEAN/

https://www.mightycause.com/story/N9elrf

In this Episode Judith Raming talked about her work as a

1:00 Presenting the guest

1:30 What is Sargassum 

2:02 What is STINAPA in Bonaire

3:10 Judith's role with this organization in the Marine Park

4:00 Roles of the rangers in STINAPA

6:00 Judith's background experience and how she apply it in

8:25 How is Sargassum affecting Bonaire

11:40 How sargassum is affecting the work

15:00 Dealing with Sargassum and how is getting better

16:44 Community organization

21:25 School System in Bonaire

23:20 The volunteer dynamic to monitor Sargassum

26:20 Managing Sargassum disposal

32:30 Using Sargassum in Bonaire

34:45 The future of STINAPA and Sargassum in Bonaire

38:20 Final message: The center of attention in this process

41:34:  Evelyn, Robby and Jenna's thoughts as hosts

The Sargassum Podcast is made possible through funding by the Resilience, Sustainable Energy and Marine Biodiversity Programme (RESEMBID). Financed under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories Regional Programme, RESEMBID is being implemented by Expertise France, with the primary stakeholders being the 12 Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories.

In this Episode Joseph Montoya and Harshini Vummadi join us to talk about the understanding of the high biomass of Sargassum and their impacts on the open oceans and coastal communities. Also, Harshini explains us her research using Sargassum to purify water.

Joseph Montoya is professor in the School of Biological Sciences and director of the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program in Ocean Science and Engineering at Georgia Tech. Harshini Vummadi is an undergraduate student at Georgia Tech. She is a 3rd year biology major whose research has been focused on Sargassum and its applications as a bioremediate.

2:00 Presenting the guest

2:56 What is Sargassum for Harshini

3:40 What is Sargassum for Joseph

6:00 The capacity of Sargassum up taking heavy metals

6:25 Harshini talks about how use Sargassum in purifying water

7:05 Current situation of Sargassum in Dominican Republic

8:30 impacts in the tourism industry

10:20 Applying purifying water solutions with Sargassum in Dominican Republic

11:30 The more impacted moments by Sargassum in Dominican Republic

12:35 Hows the experience working with interdisciplinary researchers for Joseph

19:40 Hows the experience working with interdisciplinary researchers for Harshini

21:30 The develop of Harshini research

26:39 Fran, Evelyn, and Jenna's thoughts as hosts in this interview

https://youtu.be/FzRG51E8wio

Relevant links

- https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=H15F-wYAAAAJ&hl=en

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Sigrid Skjelstad has a Masters in materials science from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and works as business developer at Orkel AS. During her studies she spent a year at University in Cape Town as an exchange student. Orkel is a developer and manufacturer of agricultural and industrial machinery based in Norway. They recently used their machines to make Sargassum bales.

0:53 The host saying hello to each other. 

3:56 Franziska presents the guest. 

5:13 The starting question! What is Sargassum for Sigrid?

9:00 What are the benefits of bailing Sargassum?

  11:48 Why Sargassum can preserve better in a bale?

13:23 Will this technology come to the Caribbean? 

 14:59 Testing experiment  

17:31 Hidrated Sargassum and bailing? 

 21:53 Fresh Sargassum is more easy to bale. 

23:30 How Sigrid was introduce to Sargassum? 

 27:07 Description of the baling machines. 

30:55 Is there a process before baling?

 33:21 And what about the sand that is in the Sargassum, when beached? 

34:39 How fresh does the Sargassum have to be so it can be baled? 

36:48 Orkel is working with recycled plastic for baling 

39:08 Buy a machine or rent it from you?

 40:32 Need of local knowledge in the Caribbean.

 41:24 Thanking Sigrid.

 43:10 Conclusions of the hosts

Links of the guest https://orkel.com/en/news/sargassum-cleanup-2023/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/orkel

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/orkelcompactors/

Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/orkel

Twitter, we don`t have a Twitter account 

Website:  https://www.orkel.com/

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