Thread: Sargassum Weed question

Is this a normal amount of sargassum on the beach? I don't remember seeing so much. Thx

Just read where it can be used as a compost or fertilizer for gardens. Yum fresh maters with Sargassum nutrients!

I hear that if you dry it, roll it and smoke it; you can breath under water.

Well, actually you just think you can. (Don't try this at home)

It seems to vary a bit from year to year probably depending on predominant winds and currents.
I suspect in the grander scale of things it is a fairly stable organism.

In the past it has often been regarded as not much more than an 'ocean weed', but "Essential Habitat Status" is currently be sought for it as research uncovers it's importance in the marine ecosystem.
NOAA Ocean Explorer: Life on the Edge: Sargassum

Once it washes up on land it drys rather rapidly (in a week) to the point where it gets brittle and literally breaks apart like fallen leaves. This breakdown adds valuable nutrients into the beach system which would otherwise be virtually sterilized by the blazing sun and caustic salts.

In the meantime the mats create sand collection ridges which can help build the beach.

Nice to get a little knowledge mixed in with all the b.s. Thanks Pier#. Like most things there is usually some usefulness for everything.

It's amazing to see all the specialized organisms that live in sargassum weed. I've seen critters from sargassum flying fish to sargassum crabs that are impossible to spot until you shake them out on deck. There are little camo filefish and swimmers that I don't have the background to identify---and I saw them all BEFORE I put the dried weed in my hookah. Fin is wrong, it doesn't make you able to breathe underwater, but you sure can glide a long way before splasdown.