Dominican BlueGea Group Aims to Turn Sargasso Problem into Industry

A new Dominican consortium, Grupo BlueGea, has been formed to transform the region's chronic sargasso problem into an industrial opportunity. The group, announced by SOS Carbon, integrates operations with SOS Biotech and Fundación Terra & Marre to develop ocean-based solutions that combine harvesting technology, applied research, and product development. Source: elcaribedr

The challenge

Despite years of massive sargasso arrivals, Dominican policies remain largely reactive. The country lacks a strategic preventive plan, even as the algae threaten tourism and coastal communities. Source: listindiario Meanwhile, private initiatives like BlueGea have already collected over 30 million kilograms of sargasso at sea, with a goal of 100 million by 2030. Source: elcaribedr

Potential and next steps

Researchers at INTEC have successfully extracted alginato, a natural gelling agent, from the seaweed, demonstrating its value as raw material. Source: listindiario BlueGea's CEO, Andrés Bisonó León, stresses that the country has the talent and technology to become a regional leader, but calls for greater public-private collaboration to scale these solutions. Source: listindiario