{"id":324398,"date":"2025-08-07T05:27:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T05:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/324398\/"},"modified":"2025-08-07T05:27:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T05:27:13","slug":"spains-smelly-algae-invasion-creeps-further-into-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/324398\/","title":{"rendered":"Spain\u2019s smelly algae invasion creeps further into Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"

\nThe stinky suffocating brown Asian algae that has troubled southern Spain’s fishers for a decade already could now be on the march across the Mediterranean and up into the Bay of Biscay.<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\nDespite its exotic name, the rugulopteryx okamurae algae has become a staple scourge in the Strait of Gibraltar, where white sandy beaches from C\u00e1diz to M\u00e1laga are turning a deep olive-brown as the soggy sea sludge creeps onto land, smothering wildlife and disrupting habitats as it goes.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI\u2019ve seen real mountains of algae. And they stink, they smell absolutely awful,\u201d Basilio Otero, president of the Spanish federation of fishermen\u2019s guilds, told Euractiv, describing it as a full-blown invasion. \u201cDuring peak season, we are completely overrun\u201d.\n<\/p>\n

\nNative to the Pacific, the invading algae most likely made its way to Europe through the dumping of ballast water from international vessels and has made headlines again this summer season for the disruption it has caused tourists along Spain\u2019s southern coast.\n<\/p>\n

\nBeyond tourism and the nuisance for locals, there’s a more devastating economic cost too. Speaking to Euractiv, Nicol\u00e1s Fern\u00e1ndez, who represents fishers in the city of C\u00e1diz, said his phone is packed with photos of boats smothered in algae at the docks.\n<\/p>\n

\nIt gets even worse below the surface of the water. \u201cA friend of mine does underwater photography and he showed us what he was seeing (…) the algae grabs onto a rock, wraps around it and kills everything underneath,\u201d Fern\u00e1ndez said, describing it as “like laying down a sheet of football turf over the seafloor.”\n<\/p>\n

\nThat bushy mass stretching across the seabed has slowly suffocated marine ecosystems because the clams, shells and molluscs that bigger fish feast on are buried under the algae.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201c[In the Cape of Trafalgar], we\u2019ve not caught a single octopus since 2016,” said Fern\u00e1ndez. “It has dramatically transformed the ecosystem\u201d.\n<\/p>\n

Beware, Europe<\/strong>
\nIt doesn’t stop at Spain either, as the algae has already spread eastward further into the Mediterranean, advancing along the country’s southern coast, then reaching France and Algeria, and even making its way to Sicily, Italy, where it was first detected<\/a> last year.<\/p>\n

\nOtero, from Spain’s fisher lobby, warns it won’t stop in the Mediterranean anytime soon.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cPeople up north feel safe because waters are cooler, but the algae is adapting and we\u2019ve already found it the Bay of Biscay,\u201d he said. \u201cIt won\u2019t reach Brussels, of course, but Belgium might be affected soon\u201d.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe problem is that it’s not easy to deal with since the brown algae behaves differently to other invasive species that crop up in late summer across the continent. \u201cThis stuff reproduces when you break it, so you have to be really careful,\u201d Otero said of rugulopteryx okamurae, adding that \u201cthe more you destroy it, the faster it spreads\u201d.\n<\/p>\n

If you can’t beat it…<\/strong>
\nWith tonnes of algae piling up, the regional government of Andaluc\u00eda in southern Spain has adopted a strategy<\/a> to repurpose it.<\/p>\n

\nAuthorities are backing scientists \u2013 who can\u2019t find a way of beating back the invader any time soon \u2013 to figure out ways to turn a algae into biofuel, biomaterials and even sandals. Researchers even recently got the green light<\/a> to try to make it into a fertiliser.\n<\/p>\n

\nBut that doesn’t help those out at sea that find their vessels covered in the slimy stuff.\n<\/p>\n

\nAlgae-clogged nets and vanishing fish stocks signal the death of artisanal fishing in the region, Fern\u00e1ndez warns, particularly for smaller vessels that don\u2019t have the capacity to follow migrating fish stocks. His father, aged 94, remembers casting out nets decades ago, but that world may soon be over.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201c[The authorities] tell us not to throw [the algae] back into the sea when hauling the gear,” said Fern\u00e1ndez. “But what are we supposed to do, eat it?”\n<\/p>\n

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