On a cloudy Wednesday morning,Shari and Steve Schmidt walked along the Galveston shore, holding hands and snapping photos of the recent seaweed buildup near the water.
"Trying to show our kids, but it’s hard to get a real feel of how deep it is,” Shari said. “... They’re used to coming here, but we’ve never seen anything like this."
In the past several weeks, beachgoers have seen an increase in seaweed, or sargassum, along the Texas coast. Steve, who is 65, said he's visited Galveston Island since he was little and has never seen seaweed buildup that high before.
Shari agreed.
"We’ve never seen it like this," Shari said. "I can kind of smell it, too."
Despite the bulk of seaweed, Galveston-based extreme weather scientist Hal Needham said the increase is normal, especially during this time of year. Needham said so far, this year's buildup is similar to last year.
"It’s a natural cycle,” he said. “We tend to see an increase in seaweed in general in the Gulf and in the Caribbean as we work through the spring months and into the early summer."
Sargassum inundation events can potentially be harmful to human health, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which says the seaweed can harbor pollutants as well as organisms that could irritate skin. Sargassum also produces ammonia and hydrogen sulfide as it decays, which could cause “mild to serious health effects,” such as cardiovascular, neurological and respiratory impacts, the EPA says.
Needham said in order to monitor the amount of sargassum, which is a specific type of brown seaweed found along the Gulf, scientists look at the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, which has a sargassum inundation tool to provide statuses and forecasts.
Previously the sargassum reports were issued weekly, but theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced Wednesdaythat the programhas been upgraded to offer daily reports on the location and risk that brown floating algae could wash ashore.
"We are now at the beginning of the season when sargassum is growing in the ocean and the risk is increasing that it may be carried by winds and currents ashore," Matthieu Le Henaff, an oceanographer at NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, said in Wednesday's news release. "Our updated risk tool is now more timely and the higher resolution offers more detail on where sargassum is and where it is not."
According to the release, sargassum on the shoreline has become a "major nuisance and an economic drain" on communities, affecting tourism in the spring and summer seasons.
"Week by week we’re watching it and monitoring it closely," Needham said.
As for the fishy smell seaweed can bring with it, Needham said while it can be noticeable, it isn't out of the ordinary either.
"People have said that they’ve had a smell of it, but it is also natural and it does help build the beach," Needham said. "It’s very dynamic. It can kind of come and go."
Officials with the Galveston Park Board said seaweed buildup has to meet certain depth and height thresholds before officials can remove and relocate it. If a relocation is necessary, officials will move the seaweed to dunes in order to renourish the beaches.
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