NewsPalm Beach CountyRegion C Palm Beach CountyLake Worth Beach

Actions

Excessive seaweed on Lake Worth Beach causing problems

Posted at 7:48 PM, Jul 05, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-02 11:19:59-04

It's hard to miss the clumps of seaweed washing up on Lake Worth Beach.

"I've lived here all my life and I've never seen seaweed like this, you can't even go into the ocean," Teri Barth said. 

Large clumps of brown floating seaweed have resident beachgoers in shock.

"I've never seen this never," Chrissy McCoy said. 

Barth and McCoy told WPTV for the first time they'll spend the day at the beach avoiding the water.

"I'm staying out of the water because the sea lice like seaweed," McCoy said. 

Brian Lapointe a researcher at Florida Atlantic University says she's not wrong.

"When you have this much seaweed coming ashore often times it can include other organisms that are driven by the current," he said.

For more the 30 years Lapointe has studied floating seaweed and he says this year is the worst yet.

"When it comes ashore in this excessive amount of biomass it becomes a problem," he said.

Lapointe says large amounts of seaweed can also attract Portuguese Man-o-War which is known to sting. 

"I think it's good to avoid contact."

But some vacationers like Steven Partridge says cooling off is worth the risk.

"This is better than the hot subways you know it's fine," he said.