Since 2011, the Caribbean region has periodically received atypical influxes of floating sargassum seaweed. These events have had many impacts on coastal and marine ecosystems leading to a range of challenges (e.g., beach erosion, water pollution, decreasing tourism, decline of seagrasses, loss of corals, among others). The actions taken by affected countries to manage these influxes of sargassum include all population sectors, including the civil society sector. This sector includes local coastal community members that have developed their own management strategies or have personal stories to tell, based on their day-to-day experience with these events.

You are cordially invited to participate in this collaborative workshop, which will bring coastal communities of Florida together. The purpose of this workshop is to gain insight into this phenomenon from the perspective of local communities to provide an opportunity to voice concerns, and share ideas, experiences, and expectations.

Dr. Rosellon-Druker is a researcher at the National Council for Science and Technology of Mexico (CONACYT.) She and her team received an award from the US Department of State to conduct workshops in Mexico and Florida that focus on documenting local and traditional knowledge of members of coastal communities who are affected by atypical influxes of sargassum.