Joint call, « Research, development and innovation », SARGASSUMS

Last years, Coastal regions of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico are facing massive and uncontrolled growth of algae. These strandings tend to be long-term and become a recurring phenomenon. It remains only the reaction stage in the emergency and is projected in a long-term perspective facing health, economic and environmental risks.

In this context, the French National Research Agency, and regional and international structures such as ADEME, local authorities of Guadeloupe, Martinique and French Guiana, Brazilian funding agencies (FAPESP and FACEPE) are mobilizing to launch a call "research, development and innovation" on seaweed strandings sargassum.

This "SARGASSUM" call will be focused on four themes.

1. Characterization of sargassum : Physiology, genetics, biochemistry, morphology, demography
2. Forecasting sargassum events and their trajectory in deep sea and close to the shore
3. Collection (deep sea, on shore) and valorization of sargassum strandings by innovative technics
4. Economic, healthcare and environmental impacts of strandings and coping strategies.

This call aims to provide pragmatic solutions to the stranding of sargassum and to improve the knowledge on this phenomenon which affects more particularly the islands of the Caribbean area. This joint initiative, the first of its kind by the perimeter of the scientific and economic community it aims at, should help create a community of knowledge and expertise of reference on the subject of sargassum.