The Sargassum Podcast

En este episodio hablamos con Deemian Vera  y Dagoberto Ruiz de la empresa mexicana de ingeniería marítima Dakatso. Demian nos habla de las barreras anti-sargazo, los botes de recolección del sargazo y su último producto: el “sargcreto”. Para ellos sargazo es un gran problema cuando llega a las playas de México, pero a la vez es una gran oportunidad como empresa para poder aportar su granito de arena en la búsqueda de soluciones a estas inundaciones. Por eso crearon el Proyecto GIS para la Gestión Integral del Sargazo. Si quieres saber más sobre cómo prevenir las arribazones de sargazo y aprovechar el sargazo recolectado, escucha nuestro último episodio.

Escucha el episodio para aprender sobre:

(For the editing: We had to restart the interview, so it starts in min 3:38 and in min 4:34 we need to cut a few seconds)

- Presentaciones (0:35 )

- Introducción de la empresa Mexicana Dakatso (2:13)

- Que es Sargazo para Deemian de Dakatso (2:51)

- Como la empresa empezó a trabajar con el sargazo (3:40)

- Importancia de recoger el sargazo en cuanto antes al llegar en las playas (5:15)

- Presentación del plan de Gestión Integral del Sargazo, proyecto GIS : Contención, recolección, disposición, industrialización (5:38)

- El proceso final del proyecto GIS, el concreto (hormigón) “Sargcreto” (10:00)

- Los barcos de recolección y el desarrollo del proceso de recolección en mar (11:45)

- Donde llevan el sargazo una vez en tierra y con quien trabajan (15:18)

- Tiempo de vida de las barreras y mantenimiento (16:30)

- Las diferentes aplicaciones del sargazo triturado (21:17)

- La red neuronal para monitorizar el sargazo: drones y satélites (22:58)

- La barrera más larga de Dakatso (25:42)

- Estudios previos para diseñar la barrera (26:51)

- Intervención de Dagoberto y agradecimientos (28:32)

- Charla sobre lo aprendido durante la entrevista entre Mar y Clio (31:07)

Si quieres saber más sobre los proyectos de Dakatso, aquí tienes los links a su empresa:

https://www.dakatso.com.mx

https://flow.page/grupodakatso

In this episode we talk to Paola Díaz a biologist from Honduras currently studying a masters in Integrated Management of Tropical Coastal Areas at the University of Costa Rica. Her upcoming project with Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología at the University of Costa Rica involve the documentation of the arrivals of Sargassum to Central America. According to her most people think of Sargassum as a problem but in the recent years more and more people also see it as an opportunity and wake-up call as a result of environmental impacts.

- Her studies in Coastal Management(5:25)

- Sargassum situation in Costa Rica (9:05; 11:00)

- Using interviews and Epicollect 5 to document Sargassum landings in Costa Rica(9:45)

- How she is planning on collecting data from remote beaches (12:34)

- Working together with NGOs that monitor beaches and hotels that have beaches (13:50)

- Plans to involve local community: first make local connections, then give locals information and then interview them to learn how they are experiencing Sargassum (15:40)

- Interview method that is standardized and used in different places in the Caribbean (17:30)

- First they plan informative webinars for NGOs and government and then practical webinars for people who will collect data (18:45)

Transcript

Learn more about Paola’s work:

֍ Research gate profile with publications

֍ Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología Instagram

֍ Paola’s Instagram

֍ Paola’s twitter

֍ Become a Sargassum citizen scientists:

1. Download Epicollect5 for iphones

Download Epicollect5 for Android

2. Within the Epicollect5 download the projects Sargassum Watch (English) or Monitoreo de Sargassum (Spanish) if you want to collect full data sets or EZ Sargassum, Sargazo facil (Spanish) or Sargasse facile(French) to just snap pictures

3. Take pictures of the beach every time you visit even if there is none

Can’t get enough? Become one of our patrons for as little as $1 a month and take part in an exclusive monthly happy hour with our podcast guests and other Sargassum crazy patrons. We are grateful for each supporter and look forward to connecting with you.

Like our music? The song is called Them Ah Pree by Drizzle Roadranna. Follow him on spotify and youtubeand Spotify

In this episode we talk to Chris Gug who is better known as just Gug. He is regarded as one of America's foremost underwater photographers. Gug has been making waves in the art scene for well over a decade and has won countless awards, many of which are internationally acclaimed. He didn’t receive a formal photography education, but acquired his skills while living full time on dive boats, shooting pictures every day. Now he is based in Lauderdale by the Sea, Florida where he has an art gallery called the Gug Underwater Gallery. For Gug, Sargassum is a artistic opportunity, a floating habitat that brings many amazing creatures and doubles as a great backdrop.

- The camera he uses (3:00)

- How he became a full time professional underwater photographer at 15 years old (4:00)

- The importance of observations (6:40)

- The joy of exploring a Sargassum patch underwater (8:00)

- Examples of pictures and videos he took (12:15)

- Reaction of beach goers to sunken Sargassum (16:00)

- Sargassum quantity increased from 2017 in Florida but only in 2019 and 2020 was there an increase in animals associated with Sargassum (17:30)

- Shifting baselines and the loss of ecosystem health(21:15)

- Floridian view on Sargassum and them often confusing it to the red tide (24:00)

- Introducing kids to Sargassum and nature (27:15)

- Amount of plastic within the Sargassum has increased in the last two years (29:30)

- Take time to watch wildlife and approach it slowly to get good pictures (32:45)

Learn more about Gug’s work and his amazing art work:

֍ Visit the Gallery: 216 Commercial Blvd., Lauderdale by the Sea, FL 33308

֍ Facebook

֍ Twitter

֍ Instagram

֍ Pinterest

֍ Youtube

We love to hear from you, feel free to drop us an email to [email protected], and connect with us on social media: facebook, twitter, Instagram, linkedin.

Can’t get enough? Become one of our patrons for as little as $1 a month and take part in an exclusive monthly happy hour with our podcast guests and other Sargassum crazy patrons. We are grateful for each supporter and look forward to connecting with you.

Like our music? The song is called Them Ah Pree by Drizzle Roadranna. Follow him on spotify and youtubeand Spotify

In this episode we talk to Jason Cole and Jorge Vega Matos, who are part of the 20-person strong team at C-Combinator, a public benefit corporation creating valuable circular economies based on Sargassum that can address regenerative agriculture, sustainable manufacturing, and scalable carbon sequestration. Jason Cole is the Executive VP for Innovation and Jorge Vega Matos is VP for Marketing & Communications. To them, Sargassum is a sign of disrupted ocean ecosystems. As Sargassum is thriving with this new climate, they plan to work with the ocean to avert climate collapse.

- Sargassum beaching events in Tanzania (10:00)

- Mission of C-Combinator to help restore the oceans and climate through the growth of naturally occurring seaweeds (11:15)

- C-Combinator is opening the first high tech biorefinery for macroalgae in the Caribbean (Puerto Rico and Mexico) (11:45)

- Their plans to innovate with sargassum and scale a large range of products in a sustainable way (12:25)

- As a public benefit cooperation they are about economy justice for island and coastal economies (13:30)

- Biggest hurdle to close shore seaweed farming is regulatory, to get the permission to put lines in the water (16:00)

- Deepsea seaweed farming has large potential in the future but need to still be scaled up(19:00)

- Jason journey from IT to C- Combinator (23:00)

- Jorge background commercial anthropologist and foresight researcher (29:00)

- Seaweeds are one of the groups of obscure organisms with amazing properties that we are rediscovering (29:30)

- Helping local communities through job creation and mitigation of negative effects of Sargassum (32:45)

- Cultural value of beaches and the ocean (35:45)

- Multitude of partners at Universities, Government and elsewhere (36:20)

- Producing biostimulant from Sargassum (38:10, 41:45)

- Other products they developed such as super absorbants for agriculture, replacements for leather, foam (40:45,( 47:25)

- The vision of C- Combinator as the anti-oil company(43:30)

- Do we need to farm Sargassum to make all these products ?(52:15)

- Using Sargassum for climate mitigation (56:30, 1:02:32)

- How to remove arsenic and other contaminants from harvested Sargassum in the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico (59:00)

Transcript

Learn more about C-Combinator:

֍ LinkedIn

֍ Twitter

֍ Climate foundation website

֍ Movie: 2040 Join the Regeneration

We love to hear from you, feel free to drop us an email to [email protected], and connect with us on social media: facebook, twitter, Instagram, linkedin.

Can’t get enough? Become one of our patrons for as little as $1 a month and take part in an exclusive monthly happy hour with our podcast guests and other Sargassum crazy patrons. We are grateful for each supporter and look forward to connecting with you.

Like our music? The song is called Them Ah Pree by Drizzle Roadranna. Follow him on spotify and youtubeand Spotify

In this episode we talk to Dr. Debbie Bartlett.  She is Professor of Environmental Conservation at University of Greenwich. Her background is in consultancy, and she had experience of working for local authorities and government agencies before moving to full time employment in academia. Together with John Milledge who we interviewed in Episode 5 she works on a Darwin Plus Project to find Sustainable Solutions for Sargassum Inundations in the Turks & Caicos Islands (TCI). As part of this, she conducted one of the first studies to determine the social and economic impacts Sargassum has on island communities.

- Sargassum muticans, an invasive species in the UK (2:30)

- Pelagic Sargassum as a community (3:40)

- Nature based solutions (4:00)

- Importance of local people’s input (6:00)

- How to involve local communities in issues that happen in the connected ocean (6:30)

- Sargassum on hotel beaches creates employment opportunities (8:46)

- Gamefishers like Sargassum mats but pull in more fish with shark bites (9:30)

- Local fishermen are likely not impacted by Sargassum in the TCI (12:00)

- Effect of Sargassum on Seagrass beds in the TCI (14:00)

- Different things we do not understand yet about Sargassum (17:30)

- Impact of Sargassum on Mangroves (18:00)

- Need for basic science on Sargassum (18:30)

- For a Sargassum industry you need to know how much is arriving to your island (20:00)

- Determine where does the Sargassum do the most damage and where does it the most good (21:00)

- Debbie’s surprise when she witnessed a “cruise boat day” on Grand Turk(24:00)

- Dive tourism concerned about bad publicity that comes with Sargassum(28:00)

- Sargassum affects jet ski operators massively(28:30)

- Hotel are often worries about their image when islands receive Sargassum (29:45)

- Is there a coordinate effort between all stakeholders involved in the TCI? (31:30)

- Can you extrapolate the results from TCI to other areas? (36:30)

- Solutions to the Sargassum problem threat the symptoms but not the cause (39:30)

֍ Bartlett D (2020) Chapter 5 Landscape Character Assessment: A method to include community perspectives and ecosystem services in landuse planning in Nature based Solutions: Science, Innovations and Strategies in South Asia.  Ed Dhyani S, Gupta A K and Karki M. Volume 1 in the Springer Nature series Disaster Resilience and Green Growth

֍ Sargassum uses guide (published by CERMES)

֍Bartlett D (2020) Golden Tides – A Collaborative Search for a Sustainable Solution to the Seaweed Inundations on Caribbean Beaches In Practice - Bulletin of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management, 107: p30-33

We love to hear from you, feel free to drop us an email to [email protected], and connect with us on social media

In this episode we talk to Javier Diaz. He is a Marine Biology Master student at University of Groningen, researching the importance of healthy fish nursery habitats in Curaçao, where he is from. He is also a board member and the research coordinator at Stichting Uniek Curaçao, a NGO group that works towards heightening the life quality of the local residents and among other things is removing Sargassum in parts of Curaçao. Sargassum to him is a nursery in the open water but becomes a problem when it reaches the coasts. Listen to the episode to hear about:

- Sargassum has always occurred on Curaçao but the blooms are more severe now  (2:00)

- Impacts of Sargassum on Curaçao (3:00)

- Stichting Uniek Curaçao and what it does for the local people, nature and youth (3:45)

- Traditional ecological knowledge of fishermen in Curaçao and how it relates to his science education (6:00)

- Languages spoken on Curaçao (9:00)

- Languages that Uniek Curaçao uses for their outreach (10:16)

- How is Sargassum dealt with on Curaçao and the planned development of a removal protocol (13:15)

- Mortality of wildlife during Sargassum events (19:30)

- Rescuing Seaturtles from compacted Sargassum (22:00)

- Sargassum arrives in Curaçao March/April and sits bays until July (24:30)

- Health impacts of Sargassum on Curaçao (24:45)

- Storage of removed Sargassum on Curaçao and plans for using it as products (25:30)

Learn more about Uniek Curaçao and watch the videos Javier talked about in the episode:

֍ Stichting Uniek Curaçao facebook page

֍ Video of turtle rescue in Boka Ascencion

֍ Video of plastic and debrief pool in Boka Ascencion

֍ Video of volunteers cleaning up Boka Patrick

֍ https://www.facebook.com/465248466901826/videos/1881404935286165

We love to hear from you, feel free to drop us an email to [email protected], and connect with us on social media: facebook, twitter, Instagram, linkedin.

Can’t get enough? Become one of our patrons for as little as $1 a month and take part in an exclusive monthly happy hour with our podcast guests and other Sargassum crazy patrons. We are grateful for each supporter and look forward to connecting with you.

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Pour cet épisode, nous discutons avec le docteur Thierry Lebrun, médecin anesthésiste-réanimateur et référent Anesthésiste, au Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire de la Martinique (CHUM) Pierre Zobda Quitman, depuis sa fondation en 2018. Il habite en Martinique depuis plus de 40 ans et est engagé en tant que médecin et en tant que citoyen contre les dangers que peuvent représenter pour les riverains et les ramasseurs les sargasses échouées sur les rivages. Le docteur Thierry Lebrun est un lanceur d’alerte, et représentant du collectif citoyen SOS Sargasses Martinique. Le Sargassum Podcast permet d’offrir un espace de dialogues où chacun peut exprimer librement son opinion.

 Ecoutez cet épisode : 

- Présentation des participants (0:30) 

- Qu’est-ce que les sargasses pour Thierry Lebrun (2:57) 

- Les enjeux sanitaires des sargasses (4 :00) 

- Rôle de citoyen lanceur d’alerte, comment cette engagement a commencé (5:13). 

- Conséquences des expositions chroniques aux émanations de gaz sur la santé et mesure de ces émanations (8:00) 

- Parallèle avec les algues vertes en Bretagne(10 :58) 

- Contrôle des expositions chroniques par les médecins sentinelles et conséquences sur la santé (11:58) 

- Mobilisation citoyenne, attentes et déceptions (15 :20) 

- Échange d’informations entre médecins dans la Caraïbe (20:16) 

- La prévision des échouages de sargasses (22 :25) 

- L’avenir de la Caraïbes avec les sargasses (26 :10) 

- Études impacts sargasses sur corps humain et sur les maisons (29 :40) 

- Importance de la mobilisation citoyenne pour faire remonter les informations du terrain et moyen mis en œuvre (34 :00) 

- Remerciements (36 :30 ) 

- Debrief (36 :45) 

Pour lire plus sur le sujet : 

֍Pour en savoir plus sur les risques sanitaires, un ensemble de documents présentés sur le site de l’URML (Union Régionale des Médecins Libéraux)

֍Article publié dans The Lancet : Sargassum seaweed on Caribbean islands: an international public health concern 

֍Les journalistes relaient l’invitation du Dr Lebrun : ”Sargasses : un médecin du CHUM, à bout, invite le Préfet chez lui !” 

֍ De nouveaux projets de recherche en France sur les risques sanitaires : Sargacare, développée par le CHUM, financée par l’Agence Nationale de la Recherche : SaRimèd, recherche en SHS financée par la Fondation de France 

֍Les mesures prises par Madininair 

֍Et le dispositif de surveillance de la DEAL (Direction de l’Environnement, de l’Aménagement et du Logement) 

֍Roman graphique Algues vertes : l’histoire interdite d’Inès Léraud et Pierre Van Hove, https://livre.fnac.com/a13413882/Pierre-Van-Hove-Algues-vertes-l-histoire-interdite 

֍Une thèse en SHS sur l’algue verte : Vivre avec l’algue verte : médiations, épreuves et signes 

֍L’association APNE (Association pour la Protection de la Nature et de l’Environnement), 

On adorerai vous écouter, n’hésitez pas à nous envoyer un email à [email protected], et à nous rejoindre sur les reseaux sociaux: facebook, twitter, instagram, linkedin 

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In this episode we talk to Dr. Ligia Collado-Vides. She is a professor at Florida International University and has been studying the ecology of marine macroalgae in the Caribbean and south Florida for the last 20 years. Sargassum is to her a large group of brown algae with more 350 species. Listen to the episode to hear about:

- Information we are still missing about the life cycle of Sargassum natans and fluitans (4:30)

- Differences between Sargassum blooms and other blooms (5:30)

- Which Sargassum species are landing on beaches (6:30)

- SargNet: The network connecting people working on Sargassum (7:30)

- How to communicate in a linguistical diverse region such as the Caribbean (16:30)

- Future of SargNet (19:00)

Take Action

֍Join the SargNet mailing list

֍ Post about your work on the SargNet mailing list so people that joined recently know what you do. Make the post multilingual (use www.deepL.comto translate your text into other languages)

֍Learn how to identify the three pelagic Sargassum morphotypes: natans I, natans VIII and fluitans III

֍ Learn more about the Ligia’s Lab

֍ Read some of Ligias’s work

We love to hear from you, feel free to drop us an email to [email protected], and connect with us on social media: facebook, twitter, Instagram, linkedin.

Can’t get enough? Become one of our patrons for as little as $1 a month and take part in an exclusive monthly happy hour with our podcast guests and other Sargassum crazy patrons. We are grateful for each supporter and look forward to connecting with you.

Like our music? The song is called Them Ah Pree by Drizzle Roadranna. Follow him on spotify and youtube and Spotify

In this episode we talk to Dr. John Milledge, a member of Algal Biotechnology Research Group at the University of  Greenwich. He is currently researching the potential exploitation of  Genus Sargassum for biofuel and other products. Sargassum is to him a vibrant offshore ecosystem that causes economic challenges when it beaches. He is researching whether we can turn this golden tide into a golden opportunity. Listen to the episode to hear about:

- Historic gathering of seaweed in the UK (3:30)

- Sargassum muticum, which invaded the UK waters (4:30)

- Sargassum is theoretically well suited for fuel but in practice not as much fuel is produced (6:50)

- The compound that inhibits fuel production (phenolics) can potentially be used for  pharmaceutical and dental products (8:00)

- Has pelagic Sargassum come up the Gulf stream to the UK (9:30)

- What type of products could be made from Sargassum (13:30)

- Concentration of arsenic and other heavy metals in Sargassum (14:30)

- How freeze drying can help with transporting samples over long distances (18:00)

- Why Sargassum tastes salty (20:30)

- Brominated compounds found in algae reduce methane production of cattle (22:00)

- Producing methane through anaerobic digestion (24:00)

- Return on energy investment of fuel (30:00)

Read some of John’s work:

֍ Milledge and Harvey, 2016 Golden Tides: Problem or Golden Opportunity? The Valorisation of Sargassum from Beach Inundations

֍ Further information on the work of Dr Milledge and Aquatic Biotechnology and Biology Group of the University of Greenwich

Dr. Milledge’s work is supported by Darwin Plus (DPR7P@059), “Sustainable Solutions for Sargassum Inundations in Turks & Caicos.

We love to hear from you, feel free to drop us an email to [email protected], and connect with us on social media: facebook, twitter, Instagram, linkedin.

Can’t get enough? Become one of our patrons for as little as $1 a month and take part in an exclusive monthly happy hour with our podcast guests and other Sargassum crazy patrons. We are grateful for each supporter and look forward to connecting with you.

Like our music? The song is called Them Ah Pree by Drizzle Roadranna. Follow him on spotify and youtube and Spotify

In this episode we talk to Emeritus Prof. Victor Smetacek, a biological oceanographer by training. Before retiring a few years ago he was leading the Pelagic Biology Section at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven. Victor once picked up a Sargassum fish while swimming in India thinking he was picking up Sargassum. For him Sargassum is an incredible algae that could be farmed in gyres to sequester carbon. Listen to the episode to hear about:

- His encounter with the Sargassum fish (1:30)

- How seaweed can grow without being attached to the bottom (6:00)

- How farming seaweed can revolutionize our society and help us combat climate change (8:15)

- Public opinion on ocean iron fertilization (10:00)

- How algae farming in gyres would work (12:00)

- Why Sargassum is well suited for gyre farming and carbon capture (14:30)

- Will this affect Caribbean shore ? (15:00)

- Could lobsters, crabs be grown in these farms as well ? (17:00)

- Technical aspects of the farms (18:30)

- Bailing Sargassum for deep sea carbon storage (22:30)

- Water exchange between oxygen depleted zone and surface water (25:00)

- How the Caribbean can be involved in gyre farming (25:30)

- How iron fertilization gives you control (28:00)

- The power of ocean based solutions (32:00)

Read some of Victors work:

֍ Smetacek, V. (2017) Beating the retreat of ice. India Today, January 2017.

֍ Smetacek, V. (2020) Mitigating the Impacts of Climate Change by Manipulating the Global Carbon Cycle. Geography and You Special Report 1, LIGHTS, New Delhi

We love to hear from you, feel free to drop us an email to [email protected], and connect with us on social media: facebook, twitter, instagram, linkedin.

Can’t get enough? Become one of our patronsfor as little as $1 a month and take part in an exclusive monthly happy hour with our podcast guests and other Sargassum crazy patrons. We are grateful for each supporter and look forward to connect with you.

Like our music? The song is called Them Ah Pree by Drizzle Roadranna. Follow him on spotify and youtube

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