The Baltic Sea beach in Warnemünde is covered with a carpet of algae Photo: Bernd Wüstneck/dpa
By Peter Amenda
It is summer. Tens of thousands of vacationers enjoy the Baltic Sea. And now this: it stinks to high heaven!
Large parts of the Rostock Baltic Sea beach are currently covered by so-called driftwood. But this phenomenon also exists on Rügen. At the beginning of June, the algae plague paralyzed some beaches here.
The tourism center in Rostock and Warnemünde explained that it was mainly algae that had been washed onto the coast due to the weather. The phenomenon is harmless for the health of beach visitors.
seaweed on the beach Photo: Bernd Wüstneck/dpa
It is primarily an aesthetic flaw that is currently affecting some Baltic Sea resorts in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
The development is favored by the recent high temperatures and strong winds from the east, according to the tourist office.
A seagull searches for food in one of the seaweed mountains Photo: Bernd Wüstneck/dpa
Vacationers and those responsible are now hoping for a westerly wind.
“We hope that a large part of the flotsam will be flushed back into the Baltic Sea in a natural way and that the usual quality of stay will be restored for the bathers,” said Rostock’s tourism director Matthias Fromm.
Drifting oil has to be disposed of as hazardous waste, which is correspondingly expensive. However, it is already being checked whether the beach should be cleaned if the algae do not return to the Baltic Sea naturally at the weekend.