Species profile
Narrowleaf Sargasso
Sargassum natans
At a glance
Narrowleaf Sargasso (Sargassum natans) is a marine alga with specific harvest rules tracked in 1 of 66 jurisdictions covered by CatchRules.
Confirmed by 53 research-grade iNaturalist observations, with Florida, Texas, and North Carolina the top jurisdictions by observation count.
Notable details
- Together with Sargassum fluitans, it forms the vast floating mats of the open-ocean Sargasso Sea.
- It drifts its entire life — never attaching to the seafloor.
- Gas-filled bladders called pneumatocysts keep its fronds floating near the ocean surface.
- Sargassum mats shelter juvenile sea turtles, seahorses, sargassum fish, and hundreds of invertebrate species.
- It reproduces entirely by fragmentation in open water, never producing spores.
Where Narrowleaf Sargasso are seen
Background
Sargassum natans is a species of brown algae in the family Sargassaceae. In English the species goes by the common names common gulfweed, narrowleaf gulfweed, or spiny gulfweed.: 126
Background excerpt adapted from Wikipedia's Narrowleaf Sargasso article (CC BY-SA). Visit Wikipedia for the full entry.
Photo credit: iNaturalist / Wikipedia. Identification reference only — verify regulations with the issuing wildlife agency before retaining a catch.