ENVIRONMENT / Sargassum: the 2023 season promises to be worrying

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Brown algae have already appeared on several beaches of Saint-Martin with a clear concentration in Mont Vernon and Orient Bay as well as an alarming arrival in Cul-de-Sac.

Residents of affected areas are concerned, and rightly so. If last year was marked by emergency collections of Sargassum, this year will have to be anticipated in view of the not very reassuring forecasts. Last week, major groundings were observed in Guadeloupe, raising the alert thresholds for hydrogen sulphide (gas emitted by sargassum) to a high level. This observation is, according to researchers from the University of South Florida, a harbinger of a season that will be prolific in terms of sargassum strandings. The territory of Saint-Martin will hardly be spared. Officials, whether at the Collectivity or at the Prefecture, continue to take this scourge seriously. Calls for tenders were recently launched in order to better prepare for the season, good news for Saint-Martin service providers, even if the closing date of February 23 remains late given the deadline for implementation. The first call for tenders concerns the collection, removal and transport of sargassum seaweed stranded on the coast of Saint-Martin for a total budget of €5.175.000, 50% of which is financed by European funds, over a period of 5 years. Four lots are detailed (maximum two lots per tenderer): the 1st for the sites of Grande Caye, Cul-de-Sac and Mont Vernon (2.400.000€), the 2nd for the Baie de l'Embouchure (1.100.000€ ), the third for Etang aux Poissons (€3) and the last lot for Baie Lucas (€675.000).

Each Sargassum collection service will be done with storage and spreading within one kilometer or transport to the Grand Caye eco-site. The award criteria are identical for the 4 lots: 60% for the price, 40% for the technical value. The second call for tenders concerns materials and equipment relating to the fight against Sargassum groundings for a budget of €770.000 divided into five lots. The first two lots focus on the supply, installation and maintenance of 5 self-powered cameras with real-time broadcasting (€35.000) and 5 self-contained gas detectors from the decomposition of stranded sargassum, with exploitation of the data produced , on the sites of Cul-de-Sac, Mont Vernon, Baie de l'Embouchure, Baie Lucas and Étang aux Poissons (€275.000), duration 36 months. The 3rd lot relates to the installation of two sections of floating deviant booms called “anti-sargasses” on the sites of Cul-de-Sac and the mouth of the Etang aux Poissons (135.000€, duration 18 months) while the 4th batch provides for the supply of a 4×6 two-sided dump truck equipped with a lifting crane, a hook, a full bucket and a slatted bucket dedicated to maintenance dams (€225.000). Finally, the 5th lot relates to the supply of a vehicle equipped with an autonomous high-pressure unit dedicated to cleaning dams (€100.000). To be continued… _VX

Tender information:

http://www.marches-securises.fr

(search in the keywords: Collectivity of Saint-Martin)

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Faxinfo: https://www.faxinfo.fr/

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