Abstract

Massive sargassum influx events have continued to plague the Caribbean over the last decade, yet there are very few examples of sustained monitoring of beached sargassum anywhere. This information is needed to advise management efforts, to validate sargassum forecasts, and to inform entrepreneurs looking to use the seaweed. To address the dearth of monitoring programmes, we have developed a simple, rapid sargassum monitoring protocol using drones (SMP-Drones) to encourage widespread, standardized monitoring of beached sargassum and the estimation of volume across the region. The SMP-Drones uses rapid field survey measurements combined with ‘off-the-shelf’ drones and the cloud-based drone photogrammetry and geospatial analysis software platform from DroneDeploy© which does not require users to have any GIS expertise or specialized computer power to provide both an accurate and non-technical, standardized workflow to easily capture aerial imagery and allow users to process data to visualize and estimate the abundance of freshly beached sargassum. Furthermore, we also developed a variety of easy-to-follow, illustrated guides and multi-media resources for applying this SMP-Drones, as well as a more basic one for use without drones (SMP-Beaches). We have also developed and implemented an online training course under the CERMES SargAdapt Project (2019-2022). Our easy-to-implement SMP-Drones requires limited time, labour, and technical expertise, thus making it accessible for a broad range of stakeholders across the Caribbean to participate in regional sargassum management efforts easily and effectively.

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