Tourists traveling to Spain this summer have been officially warned that they will have to put up with miles of “stinking rotten algae” on the beaches.
Environmentalists say they understand that the huge brown piles washed ashore by bad weather look and smell terrible and are not liked by sunbathing tourists. However, they advise local authorities not to remove them, if possible, to preserve marine life and contribute to the fight against climate change.
Posidonia, or “seagrass”, on Spanish beaches, is already protected in parts of Alicante, where local authorities have decided to protect it at all costs.
Other resorts across Spain are also considering keeping the piles intact, even though big-money tourists have to wade through them to reach the sea.
The Spanish Institute of Coastal Ecology recommends postponing the removal of Posidonia until at least the high season on the busiest beaches.
In Valencia, some of the decaying algae had to be collected due to very hot weather.
The Institute of Coastal Ecology warns: “Algae and the remains of other marine plants play an important ecological role in coastal ecosystems, especially in the sediment balance of beaches and bays.” In addition, the conservation of plant debris is one of the main criteria for obtaining the Blue Flag status.
Beach clean-up companies are trying so hard that 80 percent of the waste that goes to landfills is, in fact, sand. Damage to the natural sand cover results in the destruction and erosion of the coast.
In Alicante, an information campaign has already begun to try to change the idea of \u200b\u200bseaweed piles next to sunbeds.
The Valencian authorities, in turn, approved a decree on the preservation of Posidonia plantations in their coastal waters and the prevention of their destruction by motor fuel, anchors, etc.
Posidonia meadows, protected by European law, occupy more than 30,000 hectares in the Valencian area. They are home to over 400 plant species and 1,000 animals, many of which are of commercial interest, and some are seriously endangered.
But despite advice and persuasion, vacationers in different parts of Spain complain about the dirt and mess on the beaches. In Playa d’en Bossa in Ibiza, huge mounds of Posidonia remain on the shore after heavy spring storms, and tourists say there is no place to just lay out towels.
In some parts of the coast in past years there were several rows of sunbeds, and now there is no beach area at all.
Residents of Ibiza took to social media to complain, posting: “Posidonia decomposes in the heat, algae accumulation on the city’s tourist beaches is a health hazard. Smells like rot.”
Sea vegetation emits poisonous gases, and experts are sounding the alarm: they can kill sunbathers within seconds.
According to another version, toxic substances are the result of chemical fertilizers leaking into the sea from nearby fields.