Each summer, the Dominican Republic braces for another onslaught of sargassum—floating mats of brown seaweed originating from the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt.
In 2025, this natural phenomenon has reached unprecedented levels, with satellite data revealing a record-breaking 38 million metric tons of sargassum across the Atlantic and Caribbean during May—nearly double the previous high set in 2022.
While this seaweed plays a critical ecological role offshore, its arrival on beaches disrupts tourism, endangers marine ecosystems, and risks public health due to associated foul odors and toxic gases like hydrogen sulfide and ammonia
Related: Mexico Sargassum Daily Updates 2024: Cancun, Tulum, PDC, etc.
🌍 Current Situation in the Dominican Republic
The 2025 sargassum season began unusually early—reports indicate it landed in mid‑May, a month ahead of the typical peak. By June and July, extensive beach cleanups and barriers were deployed along the country’s coastline, especially in tourism-heavy zones like Punta Cana, where hotels and authorities scrambled to keep resorts operational
Forecasts suggest the influx may persist into summer’s end, though conditions could shift depending on currents, winds, and coastal management efforts.
Join FB Group: Dominican Republic Seaweed Reporting
Sargassum Seaweed Season 2025: The Latest Satellite Images & Photo Reports from Dominican Republic
Based on the satellite images from the University of Florida, there is still a lot of sargassum seaweed floating towards the Caribbean, and the season will most likely last longer this year.
Sargassum seaweed JUNE 2024 outlook for the Dominican Republic
Unlike other parts of the Caribbean or Mexico, the sargassum seaweed situation in the Dominican Republic hasn’t been very bad in the first two weeks of June. The morning cleanups in Punta Cana seem to be very effective and leave the beach in very good condition for most of the day.
Latest Dominican Republic Sargassum Map
Published by the Optical Oceanography Laboratory at the College of Marine Science of the University of Florida.
Recent Seaweed Updates from the Dominican Republic (Punta Cana)
Hoteliers and local authorities are on top of the issue, cleaning beaches every morning and installing ocean barriers to catch the algae before it washes ashore, in order to provide vacationers with an unforgettable beach experience.
Take a look at this timeline to get an overall picture of the current situation on some of the most popular beaches and how it evolves. This report is based on data from the Algues sargasses Punta Cana and Sargassum Seaweed Updates Dominican Republic FB groups.
June 1 – June 18: Latest News & Photos
Popular Dominican Republic Beach Battles Sargassum Invasion Along With Trash Problem – Popular local and tourist hotspot Boca Chica is reporting an ongoing struggle with seaweed and trash problems. Local authorities say they are putting more effort into cleaning up and warnings for the local population as this can have a huge impact on the local economy. Unfortunately, the opposite is true and the little beach town still has plenty of trash sites at the outskirts, schools, center, and beaches.
Latest photos from Punta Cana and other parts of DR
As you can see in the photos, the situation has been very volatile but generally beaches are looking great despite the sargassum seaweed is peaking at this time of the year.
May 10 – May 30
Most of the popular hotspots in the Dominican Republic are seeing a surge in the sargassum seaweed but the cleanups in the morning are very efficient. It’s a great time to be in the Dominican Republic at the moment. In the next weeks, the arrival of Sargasso is expected to surge.
A beautiful morning foto from Dreams Onyx Resort in Punta Cana
May 1 – 9: Punta Cana has been seeing a surge in sargassum seaweed
Photos uploaded on May 9 by Rick Ram shocked ‘Algues sargasses Punta Cana’ FB community. It was the biggest arrival of the 2024 seaweed season in the Dominican Republic. After 4-hours of cleaning by a tractor, the beach was completely sargassum-free, according to Rick’s following video post.
Viral video of tractor cleaning sargassum seaweed in the morning:
Is sargassum seaweed harmful to people?
In most cases sargassum is harmless but it can cause irritation and some rash to people with sensitive skin.
What’s causing sargassum seaweed in the Dominican Republic?
The exact cause of the annual seaweed invasion in the Dominican Republic and the rest of the Caribben is not scientifically proven yet. Various studies suggest sargassum growth is related to global warming, chemicals used in agriculture and human pollution in the ocean.
