Cork council to create taskforce to tackle 'plague' of rotting sea lettuce on numerous beaches

Council workers clearing some of the sea lettuce recently in Robert's Cove which is likely to get worse as seas continue to warm.

A taskforce is being established to tackle the ‘stink and fly infestation’ caused by rotting sea lettuce washing ashore and polluting multiple locations in the Cork region.

The phenomenon has become more pronounced in recent years, attributed to global warming combined with increased nitrate run-off into the sea from farm fertilizers. The growth of sea lettuce is stimulated by sunlight, increasing water temperatures and the nutrients it extracts from nitrates.