Pollution or Seaweed

[flyno]

Hey folks, maybe someone can shed some light on this, yesterday i went to a beach where i usually go to collect lugs. When i got there i noticed that even the puddles were a dark brown colour and that there was a white froth at the front of the incoming tide. There was a strong smell on the beach and when i waded a small bit out on the incoming tide i noticed a lot of dead jelly fish. When i returned home i made a call about this and i was told it was a result of rotten seaweed being washed inshore and that the smell was probably iodine which dead and rotten seaweed realeases. I was also told that it is happening in different locations along the east coast, and that the dead jely fish was because of a lack of air in the water. Has anyone else seen or heard of this before. Cheers...

[Firbolg]

Its most likely rotting seaweed, after the last week or so of heavy winds and probably good swell (depends where your beach is) a lot of seaweed washed inshore from kelp beds. If it hangs around it does discolour the water, ive smelled this loads of times! Its hard to know if a jellyfish is dead, it could be a jellyfish bloom and theres just loads of them getting washed in. Another thing, red tides caused by certain phytoplankton also discolour the water and can be toxic to the surrounding sea life but i think its too early for that. Good to point it out anyway and best if someone who could tell was to have a look on the beach just in case something was wrong.

[alby]

Happens every year in april/may/June after sustained easterlies. I've seen it 2 foot deep in Dublin before, makes diggin bait or fishing very difficult.

[flyno]

Cheers for the replies lads..

[dac69696969]

Came across the exact same along a beach in Louth at the weekend........which I blanked on !!! I wonder if the two are connected ??? Didn't seem to affect the bait robbing crabs though

[dac69696969]

Came across the exact same along a beach in Louth at the weekend........which I blanked on !!! I wonder if the two are connected ??? Didn't seem to affect the bait robbing crabs though

[flyno]

hey dac696969, it was a louth beach that i was on but i have also head of it on other beaches on the east coast...

[SlackLiner]

Hi all, apologies if this doesnt work, I'm new to the forum and this is my first post!

This sounds like a planton bloom to me rather than pollution or rotting seaweed in my opinion? Its the 'froth' on the shoreline thats interesting and they are common this time of year so you might be seeing one of these? Has it passed? Rotting seaweed would tend to hang around longer. The dead jellies may also be co-incidental too as they tend to follow the blooms and with the likely fatalities. It's only my humble opinion though, hope this helps