Green tide could be turned to gold
IS the green weed that has proliferated in various bays of west Cork and elsewhere along the coast a waste product or a resource? From early spring until late summer it is an unsightly and noxious nuisance, fouling boats, barring bathers from beaches and walkers from coastal paths pervaded by its odour. As winters grow milder, it is still flourishing in November. Visitors might be forgiven for thinking that some Irish bays have been transformed into golf courses, with fairways as flat as a billiard tables stretching for miles.
While the green acres look pretty in spring or autumn sunlight, they are not a pleasant sight when the weed is washed onshore in summer, dries out and begins to decay. It is then the colour of an elephant’s hide; where it piles up, with limbs of kelp protruding from it, it might be mistaken for the carcasses of dead elephants. Except dead elephants might smell better. The odour of decaying sea lettuce and gut weed is pungent, potent and, in close proximity, brings water to the eyes.
