A large floating jungle of sargassum seaweed\u2014so giant it may be seen from area\u2014is on a collision course with the North America mainland. It\u2019s more than likely hitting land someplace on the Gulf of Mexico shoreline, in response to scientists monitoring the phenomenon.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s incredible,\u201d professor Brian LaPointe from Florida Atlantic University informed NBC News<\/a>. \u201cWhat we\u2019re seeing in the satellite imagery does not bode well for a clean beach year.\u201d<\/p>\n Floating sargassum weeds harbor an abundance of small fish. Big mats of floating weeds happen yearly alongside the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the U.S. They are alternative fishing areas for anglers focusing on a wide range of gamefish, together with marlin, sailfish, tuna, dolphin, and plenty of others. Prized gamefish feed on the smaller fish that stay in and underneath the weed mats.<\/p>\n Because of its ecological significance, sargassum<\/em>\u00a0off the southern Atlantic states was designated as \u201cEssential Fish Habitat\u201d in 2003, in response to NOAA<\/a>, which affords these areas particular federal safety. An overabundance of sargassum when it reaches shore, nonetheless, could be disastrous.<\/p>\n LaPointe is an authority on sargassum, and whereas giant mats generally wash ashore in south Florida, he says Key West seashores already are inundated with seaweed. The east coast of Mexico is making ready for an enormous inflow of weeds, which might stack as much as three ft excessive, onto its famed Gulf Coast seashores.<\/p>\n
\nwill increase in two consecutive months, the general Sargassum amount within the central Atlantic Ocean
\ndecreased from January to February, though this abundance (6.1 million tons) continues to be the second
\nhighest quantity recorded for the month of February. NASA, University of South Florida Optical Oceanography Lab<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nSargassum Seaweed Mats Are Growing in Size<\/h2>\n