Mounting loads of sargassum seaweed are making the popular Enterprise, Christ Church beach — popularly known as “Miami Beach” — less attractive to visitors and threatening livelihoods, particularly during the slow summer months, when area businesses rely heavily on local patrons, vendors have told Barbados TODAY.

They issued an appeal to the government to remove the sargassum washing onto the beach and find productive ways to use it, while introducing more activities to attract visitors all year.

One vendor, who has lived in the area all his life, said the situation has steadily worsened over the years: “That’s a big issue though, something has to be done about it, because I ain’t accustom to this and I am 42 years old, and we came up around the area our whole life and never see this much seamoss. I get to understand it ain’t come from around here, it breaking off and coming here. I don’t know what we’re going to do but something needs to be done about it because it will kill the businesses.”