Monitoring recommended as algae blooms expected to increase

Algae blooms have been spotted in Clonakilty Bay, West Cork. Picture: Andy Gibson.

Green and red macroalgal blooms in Irish estuaries are predicted to increase, in a new report prepared for the Environmental Protection Agency, which confirmed that agricultural sources were the biggest drivers of these blooms in rural locations, while effluent from wastewater treatment plants was more relevant in urban areas.

These seaweed tides or seaweed blooms damage local economies and biodiversity, with "massive mortalities of organisms of commercial interest" and visual and odour impacts. They peak in the spring and summer each year, boosted by nutrients and the increased light and temperature.