Fishing

A thick accumulation of sargassum seaweed blanketed Omoa's beach in Cortés on Friday morning, forcing fishermen to suspend operations and trapping fish that had to be rescued.

Sargassum seaweed arrived on Omoa's Caribbean beaches two days ago, disrupting fishing and threatening tourism during the busy Morazán Week holiday, with local authorities organizing cleanup crews to keep the coastline clear.

Joseph David Vuelto, a 16-year-old fisherman, remains missing in the Caribbean Sea after vanishing during a fishing trip from Corozal toward Cayos Cochinos; family members, local fishermen, and volunteers continue searching the coast despite the official maritime rescue period having ended.

Honduras's fisheries authority reached agreements with the fishing industry to resume lobster operations in the Bay Islands and allow 109 vessels to fish while their license renewals are pending, while establishing a working group to study unifying closure seasons for lobster, conch, and sea cucumber.