For the past few months, several beaches in southeast Florida have looked like a real obstacle course with their Sargassum algae that proliferate along the coast.
Although the situation is not as critical in the eyes of the authorities as that of the Caribbean, it still disturbs many residents who often have to bypass them to reach the sea, not to mention the sometimes foul smells that emanate from it.
Denis Cardinal, on vacation in Sunny Isles, jumped when he saw these brown algae spoil the landscape. “I have visited Florida more than once, and I have never seen so many on the beach and in the water. Swimming is still nice, but you have to swim in deeper water to avoid them, ”he says.
For her part, Anna, who had traveled from Poland with her husband, did not have the dream vacation. Met in South Beach, she said that in one week she had never set foot in the water once: “The state of the beaches was even worse in the Keys, and the scent was so terrible that ‘It was impossible to stay more than five minutes on the beach.”
Rescuers met in South Beach explained that at this time of year it was normal to experience this kind of situation: “This is not the first time this type of pollution has happened.
They experienced similar problems in 2018, but never on such a scale. Vacationers come to them to complain, but there is nothing they can do. In South Beach, the beaches are cleaned every morning between 6 am and 10 am, but the algae build up very quickly.
Beach cleaning
How beaches are cleaned depends on whether they are State Park or municipal beaches.
In the first case, they are left in their natural state. For municipal beaches, various methods are used. In Lake Worth Beach, Palm Beach County, a tractor pushes algae into the water on Mondays and Fridays. While in South Beach, Miami, they are mixed with sand and then buried along the shore.
Some Florida municipalities pick them up and take them to the nearest dump. But Florida dumpsters are filled them and there is a limit to how much the local landfills can handle.
Some tourists want the beaches to be completely cleaned, which does not seem to be the case. Pickup is limited to part of the beach to respect the turtle nesting season, from March to the end of October.
Andy, supervisor of the Palm Beach County environmental program, understands the disappointment of tourists, but explains that the accumulation of sargassum on the beaches, brought by winds and currents in the hot season, is a reality with which Floridians are used to composing.
He adds that at the moment there is no significant accumulation and that so far no one has complained of health problems related to their presence. He reminds us in particular that sargassum is an invaluable source of food for birds, that it contributes to the growth of dune plants, that they help to replenish microorganisms in beaches that have suffered from erosion caused by storms and hurricanes.
Finally, he insists on the fact that in the turtle nesting season, as is the case now, you must at all costs avoid playing with nature to protect them.
Opinions diverge on this point, because other actors in the field claim that these algae may well block the access of baby turtles to the sea.
For his part, professor of marine science Chuanmin Hu of the University of South Florida is more worried. According to him, the situation is under control, but if one relies on satellite images, it could worsen very seriously, even going so far as to speak of a local crisis.
He recalls that exposure to fumes from decaying and uncollected Sargassum algae is toxic and dangerous for health, causing respiratory irritation in particular.
Dangerous objects
So far, the accumulation of sargassum is causing other types of problems in southeast Florida, and precautions are needed to avoid accidents.
Catherine, lifeguard at Lake Worth Beach, knows something about it. Every week, she picks up dangerous objects hidden among the algae: “I have already discovered knives, the blade pointed upwards, nails and even used syringes,” she said.
She suggests avoiding stepping on algae as much as possible, and not allowing children to play in it. Portuguese jellyfish can also hide there.
They are dangerous because even out of the water, they release toxins that can burn the skin. Also beware of sea urchin spines. They can hurt us if we step on them. In addition, some species contain poison causing burns.