The municipality of Ponta Delgada, in the Azores, has collected 150 tons of seaweed from Milícias and Pópulo beaches, with the aim of “mitigating the concentration” of the species on the municipality’s beaches, it was announced today.
According to the São Miguel municipality, the operation took place between January 17 and 23, with the support of a tractor, a trailer and a backhoe.
“Although it doesn’t pose a danger to human health or affect water quality, this invasive species, which is abundant between the American and African coasts, reproduces easily, especially in deep, rocky and nutrient-rich underwater areas,” explains the municipality.
To this end, and with the aim of “mitigating the concentration of this species on the municipality’s beaches, the municipality immediately proceeded to clean up the affected area,” the Ponta Delgada City Council said in a press release.
The municipality recalls that the accumulation of algae in the coastal zone “is a natural and cyclical phenomenon, usually derived from sea currents or weather conditions favorable to its development and movement”.
Although this phenomenon “occurs in the Atlantic in pelagic masses, in the Azores they are small in size and quantity”, reads the Azorean municipality’s note.