Not only the beaches of Cádiz, but those of the entire southern coast, the Canary Islands, the Azores and the Cantabrian Sea of the Basque Country are threatened by the algae with the complicated name Rugulopteryx okamurae. It comes from Southeast Asia and has already crossed the world when he washes up on the Spanish coasts. Every time there is a western wind, they already know in Cádiz: the most photographed beach in Andalusia is flooded again. “Then we know that a new Golf algae is coming,” says Teruel. Twice 78 tons were already removed in one day. “No city council is able to arrange this without arranging help,” Teruel tells the Spanish newspaper El Diario.
Algae mass on the beaches of the Canary Islands © Hilde Postma
Scientists explain that the alga now houses around ten years in Spain. In 2015 he came from Southeast Asia in the water of ballast tanks of large ships that are on his way to ports such as Algeciras via the Suez Canal. They discharge the water from these tanks in the Mediterranean Sea. Since then it has been a ‘silent and constant invasion’. After the alga colonized the street of Gibraltar and showed his face in Ceuta, he spread over the Spanish seas.
Dirty brown algae
What tourists and residents on the beach see in dirty brown algae breach is only a part of the enormous mass that grows in the sea, scientists say. The alga floats freely in the water, but also attaches itself to rocks and has now repressed indigenous algae. This process endangers biodiversity, knowing environmental groups – and threatens fishing, tourism and ecological balance.
Algae pp the beach of Fuerteventura © Hilde Postma
The alga is enormously strong because it can separate himself reproduction – and toxic substances. “We have no way to eliminate him,” says Juan José Vergara, professor of biology at the University of Cádiz in the Spanish media. “And the worst thing is that everything indicates that the algae mass will only continue to grow.” He says that the alga, the moment he was discovered in 2015, could still have been fought “like a cancer that is discovered on time before he can spread” – but that it is now too late for that.
Dirty scent
In Cádiz and Tarifa, both popular windsurf ranks, the presence of the algae mass is a disturbing factor for water sports enthusiasts. He also causes an unpleasant odor. Fishermen also suffer from it, because their nets and lines can become entangled in it.
Gases and emissions
At the moment the cleared kilos of algae end up at landfill places. The Futuralga company that recycles algae to degradable packaging has applied for a permit for the Rugulopteryx okamurae to be allowed to use. There are also plans to use the algae species for production for manure or even fuel. But it is still forbidden to use invasive algae species for commercial purposes. And difficulty in processing is that large heaps of algae on mainland can free up gases and emissions that are comparable to those of forest burning. Vergara says that he doubts whether the invasion can be eradicated or even considerably reduced. “At first I thought we could clean it up, but we will not get this away. If you clean it up today, it will be the same tomorrow. I would like us to find an industrial application that would absorb all biomass, but the size is so great that I see no realistic solution in the short term.”