Dear Editor,
On the beaches of St. Martin, a new environmental challenge has emerged – one not shaped by storms or erosion, but by an overabundance of Sargassum seaweed. Once a natural and largely unnoticed component of the marine ecosystem, Sargassum has surged in both volume and visibility, blanketing the island’s iconic beaches and unsettling the twin pillars of its economy: tourism and environmental health.
The arrival of Sargassum in such overwhelming quantities has become a defining issue for the Caribbean region. On popular coastlines like Orient Beach, thick mats of seaweed wash ashore with the tides, pile up in decaying mounds, and release a pungent odor as they rot – emitting hydrogen sulfide, a gas that poses health risks to residents and visitors alike. The sheer volume has left hoteliers and local governments scrambling for solutions.
Crews begin work as early as 5 a.m., according to local contractors, using bulldozers, pickup trucks and manual labor to clear the beaches. Despite these efforts, new deposits arrive almost daily, brought in by shifting currents and overnight tides. One contractor candidly described the challenge as “a long-term problem without a quick solution.”
But what’s driving this phenomenon? According to scientists, changes in ocean temperature, wind patterns, and currents – largely attributed to climate change – are fueling unprecedented Sargassum growth. As surface waters warm, they create conditions ideal for Sargassum blooms, in much the same way that warm waters fuel hurricanes. Warmer temperatures accelerate growth, while shifts in currents carry vast rafts of seaweed from the Sargasso Sea into the tropical Atlantic and, ultimately, onto Caribbean shores.
Dr. Ajit Subramaniam, a biological oceanographer at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, explains that this transformation in ocean dynamics has created “massive rafts of seaweed affecting the beaches off the Caribbean.” Once confined to the open ocean, Sargassum now inundates coastlines from Mexico to Martinique and St Martin.
To understand and address the issue, Dr. Subramaniam is leading research into the feasibility of deep-sea sequestration. The idea involves trapping the Sargassum offshore and sinking it to depths of at least 2,000 meters, where it could potentially store carbon and reduce surface bloom impacts. This approach would not be a permanent solution, but it could offer critical breathing room while more comprehensive strategies are developed.
Meanwhile, St. Martin is not standing still.
Sebastian Price and Deirdre Frost
Dear Editor,
The police force could not have gotten a better public relation officer in the person of Inspector Josepha. Kudos to you, Inspector Josepha, for keeping the public informed, with regard to the crime situation on the island! You are so down to earth and always willing to share your knowledge with the public, whenever you are called upon to do so. Your behaviour tells me who you are, inside.
You are so patient. When I look at you, I’m reminded of the Biblical story of Job, who was so patient. Even when he lost everything, he still remained faithful, no matter how challenging the gravity of his situation. The correlation is that you are so outgoing and patient with law breakers. Not that you support their behaviour. No, you believe in dialogue, first. By doing so, you are setting the foundation to establish a better relationship, with the public.
Furthermore, by giving the public a chance to become more aware of the regulations, you are hoping that the motorists would understand and adhere to the traffic rules, before you reached the point of handing them a fine. This kind of attitude is so commendable! It reveals not just leadership skills, but being conscious that your job would be a lot easier, if you create that bond with the community.
Your leadership style reminds me of when I was growing up. One day, I was on a bike, speeding and having fun, but was riding in the opposite direction. Not realizing the danger, a kind and concerned policeman like you, stopped me dead in my tracks. I had to get off the bike, and he sat me down and spoke to me as if he were my dad. He explained me the traffic rules and the danger that I was in if I had collided with the oncoming traffic. Up today, I remember that conversation as if it was yesterday, and I never made that mistake, ever again.
What really gets my attention also, is how you make yourself available to go at different locations to explain the various scenarios. This is important because it accommodates the viewers' learning modality, which helps us to absorb the information, a lot better. For me, that is so commendable! Thank you for always being so patient and so accessible!
Joslyn Morton
Dear Editor,
Even though I maintain that experience is the best teacher, I have to also agree that respect for knowledge has to be earned through competence, not inherited through seniority. I am going to be short because I was not literally involved in the conversation, but sometimes a second or third opinion can be convincing to parties. If one earned a degree and never worked in that field, whereas another person who did not earn that degree but actually works/worked in that field, in my view the person who did the actual work is more experienced.
I also have to be fair and admit that if somebody makes the observation that I (Russell) think that it is okay for people without a diploma for a certain trade, to be employed before a person with a diploma for that trade, that would be a reasonable observation. Having stated that and reacting to observations which I agree with, I have to repeat a question that lately has been posed to me by several young people.
Mister Russell all you seeing us on motorbikes and talking about us riding carelessly all over the place. How come you don’t write about those Chinese who doing the same thing riding all over up and down in one-way roads delivering food and groceries, and the police is not doing anything to they?
I have to agree that the law is laid down for all (exceptions noted), but not only the police is to blame. I also blame all the people in government because all of them are seeing the same thing that those young men talked to me about, but they only washing their mouth on the local young people.
My other observation is that I cannot remember ever seeing those nationals mentioned working on and in the road like so many other people from the neighboring islands. I was told that they are made to work harder than we think. But with me “seeing is believing”. And even if this is the case, are we saying that government is knowingly permitting this?
Not so easy to sweep things under the rug anymore, too many phones in the place. Bobo work on this!
Russell A. Simmons
Dear Editor,
I returned on a flight from St. Barths to Princess Juliana Airport on Tuesday, July 15, on
Winair flight #670, 4:20pm. I cleared Customs/Immigration in St. Barths, boarded the plane, taxied the runway and flew to SXM, disembarked, hopped on a bus to the terminal, cleared the Customs/Immigration line of arrivals, picked up my luggage from the conveyor, paid for parking and exited the airport, car pointed towards Simpson Bay. This all took a matter of 33 minutes! Congratulations to WinAir and Princess Juliana Airport for a masterful job in efficiency!
Now for the problem; I was only traveling a distance 9/10ths of a mile to my residence located on Simpson Bay and the time it took to drive from the airport to my home was 36 minutes! It took less time to fly while meeting all of the requirements than to drive from the airport to my home which is less than a mile away. This is totally ridiculous!
Government of St. Maarten, you have a real big problem here and I am amazed that NOTHING seems to be happening to correct this horrendous traffic problem on this very special and beautiful island. What are you doing now to alleviate this problem especially with the current construction of so many new condo units in Sint Maarten?
It's time to stop the lip service about this obvious issue and move on to specific action. Who is in charge of this overwhelming traffic situation? Maybe they need to be replaced because they surely are not doing their job! Island businesses cannot effectively do their jobs either when caught in all-day traffic jams.
The tourists’ arrival to SXM will decline and I hope you will fully understand that it was your failure to address and solve the issue before it was too late. Visitors are trying to escape from their hometown traffic, and not sit in it during their precious vacation time.
For an island that totally depends on tourism to support their economy, I do not see the vision behind not initiating a much-needed change. Do you really think this traffic situation is a good first impression of our island?
Sure, it’s going to be painful, but a little pain must be endured for a prosperous island to continue attracting the source of its livelihood.
Perhaps you could have conversations with other islands who have successful traffic plans in place, maybe starting with Bermuda.
Time is running out.
S.H.
Initials used at author’s request.
Dear Editor,
Isn’t there a law on when trailer trucks and heavy equipment can use the public road to transport cargo and other hazardous materials? If the answer to this question is the affirmative, then why is it that for months now, the population has witnessed these vehicles travelling at all hours of the day?
Not too long ago, it was just one or two trailer trucks and a couple of huge trucks, taking a chance (it appeared) to finish up the day’s work or trying to hustle before the traffic built up in the morning. Now, there are so many of them traversing the road whenever the drivers feel like doing so, and without any ounce of fear, because of their size.
Has the population noticed that these trucks are getting bigger and bigger? No wonder the roads are constantly screaming for repairs. But the scary part of it is that these drivers drive so fast and we all know that these hydraulic vehicles do not brake right away, if any driver is forced to stop immediately. The question is: Who will be held responsible for destroying someone’s property or more seriously, taking someone’s life?
This is justice week and so I’m kindly asking the relevant authorities to look into this matter as soon as possible, so that this conduct does not result in a situation that becomes regretful.
Joslyn Morton
