The Operating Costs of Sargassum Harvesters: Hol Chan to Seek Private Sector Partnership

The ongoing challenge of keeping San Pedro’s downtown beaches free of sargassum seaweed has added a financial burden to the Hol Chan Marine Reserve. Through a loan, Hol Chan acquired two harvester machines designed to collect the seaweed at sea before it reaches the shoreline. However, operating the equipment has resulted in additional expenses totalling thousands of dollars. To sustain the initiative, the organization is now seeking greater collaboration from the private sector.
Executive Director Ian Pou stated that Hol Chan is currently seeking additional personnel to operate the sargassum harvesters. At present, only one operator is employed. “We need to get another person trained to operate the other machine,” he said. “It’s been difficult to find labor on the island, and not just anyone can operate these machines,” Pou explained that Hol Chan pays an additional $850 in salaries for the operation of the harvesters. “In addition to that, we use 50 gallons of gasoline and 30 gallons of diesel every five days,” Pou noted.
He added that the organization has begun approaching local stakeholders, including hoteliers who benefit from the machines’ services. This income has helped offset some of the operational costs and contribute toward servicing the loan. However, more financial support is needed to make the program sustainable in the long term.
Hol Chan acquired the equipment through a $3.5 million loan from the Belize Social Security Board. Pou noted that the loan was not solely for the harvesters, which cost just over $700,000 each. The remaining funds were used to consolidate the organization’s debts, purchase engines for the harvesters, and acquire other critical assets, including sargassum barriers that will be installed upon delivery to San Pedro.
The harvesters were officially unveiled in April of this year. They were acquired in response to the growing influx of sargassum, which has increasingly affected the Caribbean region, including parts of Mexico, the United States, and Belize. The seasonal invasion of the brown seaweed is expected to worsen in the coming months. In San Pedro and other coastal communities, it continues to pose a serious problem, affecting both the visual appeal of the beaches and creating environmental hazards for marine life and coastal residents.