‘Sea lettuce’ on beaches may cost council €1.5m

AN algae which had plagued beaches in west Cork could cost €1.5 million – unless a use for the “sea lettuce” can be found.

Cash-strapped Cork County Council officials are anxiously awaiting a response from the Environment Minister to their pleas for help dealing with the algae, which has blighted beaches at Inchydoney and Ring along with Harbour View and Coolmaine, both near Kilbrittain.

A taskforce set up by the council has sent a report to Minister John Gormley on the problem, which is causing serious concern in the region.

The taskforce held its first meeting on October 14 and has held several meetings since. It compromises of officials from the Marine Institute, Cork County Council, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries & Food, the Environmental Protection Agency, HSE, National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Department of the Environment.

The taskforce was activated after concerns were expressed the tourist industry in the area would be damaged, especially if surfers and swimmers were having to wade through accumulations on the beaches.

The root of the sea lettuce explosion has been pinpointed to a combination of a number of factors.

These include overuse by farmers of nitrate fertilisers which are running off the land into the sea. These nutrients feed the sea lettuce.

The algae was first noticed in bays of the region in the early 1990s, but its growth has escalated in recent years.

The situation has been exacerbated by the fact that many of the estuaries along the west Cork coast are sheltered and flushing of waste water is restricted. Nutrients are released into the algae over a lengthy time frame.

Last year, the council arranged 15 collections of sea lettuce from the shoreline.

The council visited over 600 farmers advising them to cut down on the use of nitrate-based fertiliser.