Miami Beach Sargassum

In the water, normal levels of sargassum are typically not harmful. Large accumulations can impede swimming and boating. According to the Florida Department of Health (DOH), the sargassum itself is not harmful to the skin, but sea creatures that live in sargassum can cause skin rashes and blisters. During sargassum inundation events (SIEs) it decomposes and releases hydrogen sulfide and ammonia gases. Hydrogen sulfide has a very unpleasant odor that resembles rotten eggs, and this can irritate the eyes, nose and throat. Ammonia can resemble an odor similar to sweat. If you have asthma or other breathing illnesses, you may be more sensitive to these symptoms. However, the levels of hydrogen sulfide and ammonia in an area like the beach, with large amounts of airflow, are not expected to reach harmful levels.

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• Sargassum Inundation Events (SIEs): Impacts on Human Health | US EPA. Click here to learn more.

The sargassum we see on our beaches originates in the Sargasso Sea, located northeast of the Caribbean and the Tropical Atlantic. The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt in the Sargasso Sea is where sargassum mats typically form. This algal aggregation has increased in size over the years and spans 5,499 miles along the central Atlantic from the coast of West Africa to the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. Factors dependent on ocean currents, wind patterns, and warm water temperatures help form this region. East to southwest winds act as a conveyor belt that pushes floating mats of sargassum from the Atlantic and Caribbean directly onto Florida’s beaches.

Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

1. The Greate Atlantic Sargassum Belt
   1. Large amounts of sargassum are transported from this region of the Atlantic Ocean into the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and tropical South Atlantic
2. Essential Fish Habitat and Critical Habitat
   1. Free-floating sargassum provides habitat, food, protection, and breeding grounds for marine species. Especially juvenile sea turtles and sea birds. Harvesting activities that may disturbs these species must obtain authorization under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
3. On Shore” Sargassum Inundation Events:
   1. Mass amounts of sargassum can form brown tides nearshore. Sargassum decomposing on the beach produces hydrogen sulfide which can cause respiratory irritation.

Miami-Dade County is required to have a permit from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to perform “beach cleanings” under the Florida Beach & Shore Preservation Act, Florida Statute Section 161, with input from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission. This permit allows heavy machinery to be operated up to the wrack line. Operators of mechanical beach cleaning equipment shall avoid all native, salt tolerant dune vegetation. This ensures that wildlife and sea organisms are not disturbed.

The Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation, and Open Spaces Department (PROS)’s Beach Operations oversee and contract with Beach Raker to manage sargassum. Beach Raker is contracted to turn over and remove excess sargassum in pre-approved hot spot areas along the beach. The Beach Raker crews begin managing sargassum early in the morning, before the majority of beachgoers arrive at the beach. Prior to operating heavy machinery, the PROS' Sea Turtle Conservation team surveys sea turtle nests each morning. Once the survey is complete, beach operations crews proceed to clean the beach until sunset, regardless of tidal conditions. This involves mixing the sargassum back into the sand and raking remaining sargassum to be collected and removed from the beach. When the second tide arrives in the afternoon, depending on the winds, it often brings another wave of sargassum to the shoreline. Due to these natural conditions beaches may not appear completely free of sargassum at varying times throughout the day. State and federal environmental regulations prohibit the removal of seaweed from the water prior to its landing on the shore.

Beach Raker crews operate daily to collect and dispose of as well as cut and turn the buildup of seaweed on the water line across our 7-mile beach. Removals are performed from 22 – 32 streets and to the jetty north of Government Cut, which have been identified as hotspots (areas with excessive accumulation).

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The average volume for the last 5 years over the October-May period has been 4,512 cubic yards removed. Since the start of the 2026 Sargassum season, there have been 5,894 cubic yards of sargassum removed from our beach, with 2,045 cubic yards removed in May so far.

In Miami Beach, the Beach Raker crews collect and dispose of the buildup of seaweed along the water line across our 7-mile beach. Excess sargassum that is removed from the sand is transported to a designated staging area, where it dries, and is then landfilled.

While other countries, such as Mexico, report reusing sargassum, current environmental regulations make this difficult in the United States. The EPA and NOAA have strict regulations in place to protect the marine life that relies on sargassum. Recycling sargassum poses issues related to heavy metal contamination absorbed from the ocean, gas emissions as it decomposes, and processing pollutants out of collected sargassum.  Currently, the City of Miami Beach does not have the infrastructure to support recycling or reuse of excess sargassum.

The removal of sargassum from the water can help decrease the amount that washes ashore. Sargassum is designated as Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) for several open sea fish species under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Sargassum is also designated as Critical Habitat for loggerhead sea turtles under the Endangered Species Act in two distinct areas of the U.S. South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. These protected habitat designations legally limit mitigation and management efforts until sargassum is on Miami Beach. Removal of sargassum from the water involves collecting in a manner that minimizes taking sand during the process, clear guidelines to avoid disturbing or harming marine life, checking for trapped marine life, and alerting users of the area where removal will occur.

The City of Miami Beach has contacted the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for guidance on the potential removal of sargassum in the ocean before it reaches our beaches or utilizing structures like barriers. These agencies raised concerns regarding impacts on protected marine species, scope of sargassum collection, importance of free-floating sargassum near shorelines, not negatively impacting other areas as a result of improving our own and highlighted the need for extensive permitting (if deemed approvable). This would include hydrographic and benthic surveying to demonstrate any technology, or removal would not negatively impact the marine ecosystem.