Green Algae Take Over Flic-en-Flac

Green algae have invaded the beach and lagoon of Flic-en-Flac, making strolling on the beach, and especially entering the water and swimming, unpleasant. This was the observation made by Le Mauricien over the weekend. It is a phenomenon known as “eutrophication,” explained by Vassen Kauppaymuthoo, who was consulted for a scientific explanation.

On this Friday afternoon, the weather is beautiful, with big waves crashing against the reef and rolling onto the beach inviting some to take a walk or dip without having to go too far into the water.

However, the unpleasant surprise comes when approaching: algae have proliferated for several kilometers in the rolling water and on the beach up to the upper limit. Children are thus deprived of this prime spot to play, forced to stay on the dry, hot sand. As for swimmers, they must cross the dense algal area to find clean water, getting close to the swimming zone limit.

Consulted by Le Mauricien, oceanographer Vassen Kauppaymuthoo explains that this is a “sign of lagoon eutrophication, meaning it is the result of an increase in nutrients in the water.”

On the website (https://planet-vie.ens.fr), it is learned that this phenomenon corresponds to “an ecological imbalance related to too large inputs of phosphorus (including as phosphate) and nitrogen,” leading to “an explosion in the development of aquatic plants.”

It is said to cause various undesirable effects. In addition to being a nuisance for swimming, it contributes to the depletion of biodiversity and is a visual and olfactory nuisance.

While eutrophication is a natural phenomenon spanning hundreds of millions of years, it is also linked to human activities and develops quickly.

On another website (https://static.inrae.fr), it is explained that “eutrophication poses a threat to the environment, the economy (impacts on shellfish production, fishing, tourism, etc.), but also to human health.”

Source: Le Mauricien