Tourists at Australia’s Bondi Beach were surprised to see what looked like
blood-soaked water heading their way this week.
Bondi Beach is a
popular tourists destination around Sydney Australia, but the area had to be
closed after a huge algal bloom took over some of the area’s waters.
Ten News Sydney
reported that despite the warnings, a number of beachgoers were still venturing
into the water and swimming through the red stained waters.
Thousands of
tourists were disappointed to find out they were unable to head towards the
beach and catch some sun rays.
Local lifeguard Bruce Hopkins told The Australian the water has a fishy smell to it and
the algae color makes the water look like it has a coating of tomato-sauce.
The New South Wales (NSW) Office of Water carried
out a series of tests to determine what caused the bloom. Some believe that the
algae-stained water was caused by an upwelling of colder, nutrient-rich water.
A NSW spokesman
said the blooms are more common around spring and autumn when the water
temperature is higher and there are greater movements in ocean currents.
A local council spokesman said in a
statement red algae could be dangerous to some humans. Reports also
claim a large number of fish have died from the phenomenon.
“It is potentially dangerous, it
produces toxins and varies from people to people,” Marine biologist Fred
Gurgel told the Herald Sun. “It should clear up in less than a week.”
Bondi reopened in
the afternoon after the bloom broke up. A spokeswoman for the Waverley Council
said most of the algae had either washed up or broken up in the water.
NSW said the
reddish substance had a similar consistency to fairy floss and could appear to
be phosphorescent at night.
With the weekend
in Sydney predicted to be one of the warmest of the year, experts hope the
bloom will continue to break up, according to a report by the Herald Sun.
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