Near-record amounts of algae, or water plants, are covering Caribbean coasts from Puerto Rico to Barbados.The plants are killing fish and other wildlife, producing bad smells and gases, and hurting tourism.The University of South Florida's Optical Oceanography Lab said nearly 22 million metric tons of brown algae called sargassum appeared in the Atlantic Ocean in June.That was 20 percent more than the record set in 2018.And unusually large amounts of sargassum have floated into the Caribbean Sea.The plants recently surrounded Pinel Island near the French Caribbean territory of St. Martin.The normally clear blue waters turned dark brown forcing officials to stop boat service and cancel fun activities on the water.Oswen Corbel is the owner of Caribbean Paddling.He said he had to close his St. Martin business on July 22 and does not expect to reopen until late October.
