Brown algae slime blankets surf from Cocoa Beach Pier to Alan Shepard Park
Jim Waymer
COCOA BEACH — Dawn Stevenson sees the brown, wool-like gunk lap up every summer. But in recent years, she's noticed more severe algae outbreaks hit her hometown beach.
The stuff blanketed about a quarter mile of the surf zone Monday, from Cocoa Beach Pier thorough the southern end of Alan Shepard Park.
Stevenson, among others, just dealt with it.
"I definitely think it's gotten worse," Stevenson said, standing underneath the shade of a pop-up canopy Monday. "There's all kinds of challenges that people who use the ocean deal with."
No signs or red flags at lifeguard stands warned people out of the water Monday at Alan Shepard Park. Adults and children surfed through thick, brown algae that from a distance resembled an oil spill. The stuff has been lapping up on the beach just south of the Cocoa Beach Pier for about a week, beachgoers said.
On July 17, samples taken by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection identified the algae at nearby at Jetty Park as a "filamentous cyanobacteria (Lyngbya-like) and Ceramium sp." DEP's tests did not detect any toxins in that algae.
The most recent bacteria tests by state health officials, taken July 15, from Cocoa Beach and seven other Brevard beaches between Jetty Park and Sebastian Inlet, turned up "good."
Like Stevenson, biologists also suspect algae blooms are getting worse. One theory as to why is that a warming ocean surface might be allowing algae and other plants to proliferate to wider ranges, for longer and at higher concentrations.
More:Again? Killer brown algae responsible for 2016 mass fish deaths is blooming
Other science points to wastewater and other coastal pollution supplying nutrients for the algae to grow. After rains pulse nutrients from land to coastal waters, summer heat further fuels excess algae.
In recent years, massive amounts of the open-ocean algae — called Sargassum — also have been annoying anglers along the eastern United States for years.
Sargassum is a constant presence in the Atlantic Ocean, so much so that a large swath of the North Atlantic is known as the Sargasso Sea. Experts say sustained winds combined with seasonal shifts in the Gulf Stream can cause the weed to bunch up in excess on local beaches.
More:Brevard environmental officials prepare for dealing with major fish kill
Fresh water algae also has been blooming, lately in Central Florida. Health officials posted warning signs at Lake Washington last week, after recent water sampling found potentially toxic algae in the lake, Melbourne's main source of drinking water.
City and state officials say the city's water is safe to drink, and any potential algae toxins would be treated out of the water before it reaches customers' taps.
On Friday, officials posted signs warning about potentially toxic algae.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has been coordinating with the St. Johns River Water Management District and the Department of Health on a coordinated response to the lake algae. DEP staff went out to sample the lake Friday and the St. Johns River Water Management District was expected to collect further samples early this week.
Back at Cocoa Beach, swimmers and surfers seemed unfazed by the brown algae, viewing it as no more than a mild, somewhat stinky annoyance.
"It just generally clogs everything up. It's like wool," Stevenson said. "It comes and it goes, and let's hope it goes again."
Jim Waymer is environment reporter at FLORIDA TODAY.
Contact Waymer at 321-242-3663
or jwaymer@floridatoday.com.
Twitter: @JWayEnviro
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jim.waymer
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