Because of the vast amount of sargassum that has washed up in Delaford, Tobago, there is the need for “mechanical intervention” to remove it. That’s according to an evaluation report by the Tobago Sargassum Response Committee after a preliminary monitoring and evaluation exercise along “Tobago’s Atlantic Coast.

“As a result of the exercise, the following areas were identified as having significant sargassum that can affect their environment. These areas are Little Rockly Bay (Petit Trou), Little Rockly Bay (Magdalena), Delaford, and Kings Bay. Little Rockly Bay (Petit Trou), Little Rockly Bay (Magdalena), and Kings Bay can be allowed to flush the sargassum by natural processes due to present usage and existing stay-at-home measures, while Delaford may require mechanical intervention,” the Committee reported, as published on the Facebook Page of the Tobago Emergency Management Agency, TEMA.

Meantime,  Tobago’s Department of Marine Resources and Fisheries (DMRF) has warned against eating fish that washed ashore with the seaweed.

The DMRF said that “fish may have died longer than it seems and may have accumulated high levels of Pathogenic bacteria, which thrive well in sargassum, especially in high temperatures. In addition, fish and other species may have high levels of toxic build-up in muscles due to anoxia and extended periods of stress.