- Sargassum is a tropical invasive seaweed that floats in mass and doesn’t attach itself to the seafloor.
- This aquatic plant is challenging to the environment when it is too abundant.
Sargassum is a tropical invasive seaweed that floats in mass and doesn’t attach itself to the seafloor. It has a berry-like structure filled with oxygen, giving the plant buoyancy and allowing it to float. The seaweed is a home, nursery, and breeding ground for aquatic animals like fish, crabs, shrimps, etc. and a source of food for these animals.
This aquatic plant is challenging to the environment when it is too abundant. It forms thick brown mats and decomposes with a stench releasing hydrogen sulfide. The people of the Nzema, a seaside resort in western Ghana, have been impacted by the invasion of this plant, posing a threat to biodiversity in the coastal region.
The presence of the plant is turning clear blue waters brown, thereby reducing the sunlight reaching the water to support other aquatic life. The aquatic weed has a negative social, economic and environmental impact on the people and their livelihood. The Nzema people have called for help from the government Environment Protection Agency and other stakeholders to help tackle this threat to their environment.