Seaweed Overruns Beach Off Caribbean Shores

— -- It has been a rough summer for beaches. First, sharks found their way into waters they don't typically frequent, and now seaweed covering Caribbean beaches?

A mass of seaweed washed ashore on the Playa Los Machos beach in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, pictured above, Aug. 8, 2015. Hitting most of the Caribbean this year, the mounds of seaweed have affected tourism.

Seaweed-covered beaches have led to several hotel cancellations with some scientists considering the event an "important part of the coast’s ecosystem."

Many scientists are blaming the unsightly piles of seaweed in the Caribbean region to above-average temperatures and low winds, which affect ocean currents, and have also been linked to global climate change.