A perspective for the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of America* by the University of South Florida Optical Oceanography Lab – (bbarnes4@usf.edu, yuyuan@usf.edu, huc@usf.edu)

The map above shows the average Sargassum abundance for the month of June 2026, with warm colors representing higher abundance. The top color (red) indicates that 0.4% of the ocean surface is covered by Sargassum, meaning that Sargassum clumps and mats are scattered here and there in the location.

The Sargassum abundance for each region is compared with historical values in the same month of 2011–2025 in the whisker box plot below, where horizontal bars in each vertical box indicate minimal, 25%, 50%, 75%, and maximal historical values, respectively, for the month of June.

Looking ahead: Sargassum amount in most regions is likely to change slightly (either increase or decrease) in July. Beaching events around the Caribbean and southeast coast of Florida will continue and likely increase. Some beaching events may also occur around Florida’s Panhandle region. The year of 2026 is set to be at least the second largest Sargassum year, as the total amount in June is only 10% lower than the historical record in 2025.

All previous monthly bulletins, as well as daily imagery, can be found under the Sargassum Watch System (SaWS). Meanwhile, high-resolution Sargassum maps for selected coastal regions are also available in near real-time under “Satellite Data Products => High Resolution” of the OOL Website.