Florida Beachgoers During Spring Break at Risk Following Toxic Algae Bloom

A harmful algae bloom known as red tide may leave beachgoers on Florida's beaches ill this spring break.

Red tide has already begun killing fish along the Gulf Coast, and its toxic byproducts are making the area unpleasant, The Hill reported.

According to Daily Mail, Florida health officials also said that while exposure in humans will not prove fatal, it can ruin a day at the beach.

Officials noted that when the marine organism Karenia brevis blooms, inhaled toxins can cause respiratory irritation, sneezing, itchy throat, coughing, and eye irritation.

When there is a red tide, Florida officials put an advisory like there is now and discourage swimming, but they do not typically close beaches.

On Friday, the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science issued a warning of a "moderate to high risk of respiratory irritation" from red tide in six counties.

Aside from red tide, an even larger mass of seaweed, twice the size of the United States, is floating in the Atlantic and may wash ashore in the next several weeks, causing considerably more disruption.

The beaches of South Florida and the Gulf Coast are anticipated to be invaded by massive mats of decaying sargassum seaweed by the middle of April when companies in the area are already struggling to accommodate a surge in tourists.

Resort beaches on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, along the Caribbean coast, and in Key West, Florida, will see the first of several thousand-mile-long trains of floating sargassum.

These new arrivals may only be "the tip of the iceberg," but marine biologist Brian LaPointe estimates 13 million tons of seaweed in the ocean.

LaPointe heads up a seaweed lab at Florida American University that is among the best in the country. He reassured everyone that there was no need to "panic" but noted that for a bloom to be "that big, that early, just doesn't bode well."

The Sargassum Seaweed

Algae, known as sargassum, form large clumps at the sea's surface and are commonly seen drifting in seas and gulfs. A typical clump's thickness is several feet, WFTV reported.

Algae, leafy and stemless, absorb carbon dioxide and provide food and shelter for marine organisms and terrestrial animals like fish, crabs, shrimp, turtles, and birds.

When the sargassum mats are too heavy, they settle to the ocean floor or gulf and disintegrate into tiny pieces that the marine organisms can eat.

Sargassum can reach the shore and the beaches if the wind and the waves cooperate correctly.

Brian LaPointe emphasized the hazardous nature of sargassum seaweed to human health. Hydrogen sulfide gas, which the decaying algae produce, is poisonous and can lead to breathing difficulties.

"You must be very careful when you clean the beaches," he warned. Arsenic can also be found in the seaweed's flesh, making it poisonous when eaten and used as fertilizer.

"If you are somewhere where you are harvesting this to use as a fertilizer, you have to be very concerned," Lapointe warned, emphasizing it for those who intend to put the fertilizer on crops used to make food and fiber for human use.

What Causes the Sargassum Seaweed Problem?

According to Dr. Gustavo Jorge Goni, an oceanographer at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, the abundance of seaweed can vary from year to year depending on ecological factors, affected by changes in nutrients, rainfall, and wind conditions, just like plants and crops on the ground.

Goni also noted that ocean currents could affect sargassum's annual growth and accumulation. Moreover, the algae can also survive from phosphorus and nitrogen found in the ocean, KSL reported.

Lapointe took samples from about where the sargassum originated and compared them to those taken in the 1980s. He observed a 45 percent increase in nitrogen content. They attribute the bloom's explosive expansion to this rise.

According to the EPA, human activities like farming and fossil fuel extraction increase the amounts of phosphorus and nitrogen in rivers, which can then be thrown into the ocean.

For many years, Fort Lauderdale's sargassum seaweed disposal strategy has consisted of hauling the material to massive parking lots, laying it out in sheets, and waiting for the rain to wash away the salt before turning the material into mulch and giving it away for free.

This technique recycles the nutrients washing away from the deforested Amazon to feed the grass and crops in Florida.

Since the algae bloom occurs months before the summer rains in Florida typically begin, Stephen Leatherman, an oceanographer at Florida International University specializing in beach health, worries that composting will not be feasible.

Because of this, cities will likely have to pay $35 million to $45 million to each county to haul the garbage to landfills.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Red tide swamps Florida beaches as they face massive seaweed blob - From CBS Mornings