Community Resilience
Creates direct and permanent employment in coastal operations within each municipality where it operates, protects the local tourism economy, and reduces sargassum cleanup costs currently borne by municipal budgets and DNER.
Executive Order 2025-037 · Puerto Rico State of EmergencyIntercept.
Intercept.
Restore.
Renew.
Puerto Rico's permanent nearshore sargassum deflection and collection infrastructure, turning a coastal crisis into a circular economy asset.
Puerto Rico coastal marina, eastern region, 2025. Sargassum accumulation blocking marina access. One of Reclaim Nature's seven operational sites. Photo: Reclaim Nature documentation.
40M MT
Sargassum reached Puerto Rico coastlines in 2025
7
Initial coastal access points across Fajardo, Humacao, San Juan
80%
Sand reduction vs. beach-raked collection, pure biomass at source
2
Debris streams intercepted together, sargassum and ocean plastic
ACTIVE CONDITIONS — 2026 SEASON
USF Sargassum Watch System Bulletin 04 confirms sargassum has spread across the entire Caribbean Sea as of mid-April 2026. The 2026 season is projected to be a record year by summer.
NOAA has documented active decomposing sargassum with hydrogen sulfide release at multiple Puerto Rico coastal sites included in Reclaim Nature's seven operational zones.
A peer-reviewed study published in Marine Environmental Research in 2026 confirms sargassum events generate multimillion dollar losses annually across Puerto Rico in tourism, fishing, and coastal infrastructure.
The window to be operational for the 2027 season closes with every month that passes without active permits. Reclaim Nature is moving now.
Sargassum fluitans in beach deposition — pneumatocysts visible. Photo: Pexels.
Puerto Rico coastal marina, Humacao region, 2025. Mass fish kill caused by sargassum-induced hypoxia.
The Cost of Inaction
When sargassum reaches the marina, the ecosystem collapses.
Decomposing sargassum depletes oxygen in enclosed marina waters. When dissolved oxygen drops below survivable levels, fish suffocate. It is what happens when offshore interception does not exist.
H₂S
Hydrogen sulfide released by decomposing sargassum, the same gas found in sewage
0 mg/L
Dissolved oxygen threshold below which fish cannot survive, reached in enclosed sargassum events
2025
Year this photograph was taken at Palmas del Mar, the same year Puerto Rico declared a state of emergency
Who We Are
Puerto Rico's coastlines belong to its people
Reclaim Nature collects, removes, loads, and transports sargassum and ocean plastic from Puerto Rico's coastal waters before they reach shore. We operate seven planned coastal access points across the eastern and southeastern coastline. Every ton recovered goes to qualified processors through a zero-landfill pipeline.
Executive Order 2025-037 · June 30, 2025
Governor González-Colón declared sargassum a Puerto Rico state of emergency, authorizing immediate coordinated response across coastal municipalities.
40 million metric tons
That is the estimated volume of sargassum that reached Puerto Rico's coastlines in 2025. It carried arsenic, hydrogen sulfide, and enough biomass to close beaches, damage coral reefs, and suppress the coastal economy that Puerto Rico depends on. Reclaim Nature exists to intercept it before it arrives.
The Model
Four phases, one continuous system
From satellite prediction to shore-side staging, a fully integrated interception system operating in the Caribbean.
Deployment Timeline
Path to deployment
Operational launch is targeted for March 2027, ahead of the April to October peak sargassum season — the first season Puerto Rico could face with a permanent interception system in place.
May to Jun 2026
Permit Submission
USACE ENG Form 4345, DNER Coastal Shoreline Zone permit, and certified engineering drawings
Jul to Sep 2026
Agency Review
USACE public notice period, NMFS Section 7 consultation, DNER technical review
Oct 2026
Equipment Procurement
DESMI equipment order initiated, approximately 4 months lead time to delivery
Mar 2027
Operational Launch
Deployment at three Fajardo sites ahead of the April 2027 peak sargassum season
Every step of this system exists to return Puerto Rico's coastlines to the communities that call them home.
Operational Sites
Three priority sites, one coastline protected
Phase 1 operations focused in Fajardo, a municipality with recurring, documented severe sargassum impacts and an established regulatory track record.
THE SUPPLY PIPELINE
Every ton we collect has a destination.
Reclaim Nature stages clean dewatered sargassum biomass and co-collected plastic at each coastal access point and makes it available to any qualified processor on the island. This pipeline is open. Any Puerto Rico based manufacturer, researcher, or processor interested in receiving recovered biomass as a raw material is welcome to establish a transfer relationship with Reclaim Nature. One processor has already executed a Letter of Intent confirming their intent to receive material. More are welcome.
From Burden to Asset
The supply infrastructure Puerto Rico has been missing.
Permitted offshore collection operations producing clean raw material available to any qualified processor on the island. No landfill dependency. No exclusivity. Just supply.
$0
Landfill cost. Every ton collected has a destination and a purpose through material transfer to qualified processors.
Open
Pipeline available to any qualified Puerto Rico processor. No exclusivity.
1+
Processors with Letters of Intent confirmed. More partnerships in development.
2
Material streams available: dewatered sargassum biomass and co-collected ocean plastic.
Strategic Outcomes
What this delivers
Permanent infrastructure that addresses a recurring coastal crisis and delivers measurable economic and ecological outcomes for Puerto Rico.
Coastal Infrastructure Protection
Intercepts and removes floating debris before it damages beaches, coral reefs, marina equipment, and coastal access points across Puerto Rico.
Environmental Restoration
Removes hazardous materials from marine habitats before hydrogen sulfide release and plastic fragmentation into microplastics can occur.
Scalability Across the Caribbean
A replicable community-based model designed for adoption across additional Puerto Rico municipalities and wider Caribbean coastlines.
Phase 1 begins in Fajardo. The model scales across every coastline in Puerto Rico, and across the Caribbean.
Get in Touch
Ready to coordinate
Our permit application is moving through pre-application review with USACE Caribbean District. We welcome coordination from agencies, municipalities, processors, and research partners.
Permit documentation will be published here upon issuance. Current permitting status is summarized in the panel to the right.
For coordination inquiries contact us through the Contact page.
Permitting & Authorization Status
USACE ENG Form 4345 pre-application package complete. Currently consolidating Letters of Intent and final supporting documents prior to formal submission.
Pre-application meeting completed May 5, 2026 with USACE Caribbean District
Authority: Section 10, Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899
DNER Regulation 4860: parallel coordination initiated
ESA Section 7 / NMFS consultation: to be initiated following USACE pre-application guidance
Processing partner Letter of Intent: executed May 2026
Adjacent owner notifications submitted: responses pending
Target deployment: March 2027
Funding exploration active: FEMA Hazard Mitigation, EPA environmental grants, NOAA coastal response programs