05/02/2025
Galveston Island has recently received seaweed landings along its shores. The kind of seaweed that lands here is called sargassum. Sargassum seaweed originates in the Atlantic’s Sargasso Sea and lands on shores throughout the Caribbean, tropical South Atlantic and the Gulf. It is a floating ecosystem, home to and a food source for marine life. Seaweed is a natural occurrence that is beneficial to beaches, helping to prevent erosion.
The Park Board is committed to achieving a sustainable balance between the organization’s environmental responsibilities and accommodating beachgoers. Seaweed is not a hazard. Rather than removing seaweed from the beach, the Galveston Park Board relocates it away from the shoreline.
The Park Board is the only entity on the island with the federally granted authority to relocate seaweed. These decisions are regulated and have thresholds that must be met to consider action. Equipment, like the Surf Rake pictured here, is mobilized when this threshold is met.
The Park Board will continue to provide updates as they are warranted.
