Tens of thousands of Chinese soldiers and citizens are removing algae from the sea where Olympic sailors will compete, according to an AP article. The algae is getting stuck in the boats’ rudders.
Is it just me, or does this sounds like an awful idea? Apparently the algae covers 1/3 of the sea. I’m not an expert on ecosystems, but it seems like the algae is there for a reason. So Chinese officials are carting it off and killing it for the Olympics – but what happens when the competition is over? What about all of the fish and other sea creatures that presumably feed on the algae?
photo credit: jurvetson
Some say it could be caused by pollution, but even if that’s the case, removing it all at once seems like a drastic measure that could shock the creatures that have learned to live with it.
The article didn’t mention any potential ecosystem damage, which seems to me like a huge oversight. It just seems so… selfish and wreckless for people to uproot an entire plant species without thinking about how it will affect the ecosystem and, ultimately, their own food sources.
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Hi and thanks for stopping by! I’m delighted to meet another travel buff, and a green one at that! This is the first I’ve heard of this story, but my thoughts were the same as yours. It’s a terrible idea. How can anyone predict what it will do to the natural ecosystem?
While we’re on the topic of China. One of the things that drove me nuts about living there were the number of useless, flimsy plastic bags that seem to be everywhere. I wish they would clean up their act and start offering quality plastic bags that people have to pay for. They’ve implemented this system in Taiwan and it works really well. Most people re-use their plastic bags or bring cloth.
Actually, areas such as that are ‘dead zones’. The masses of algae die and drift to the bottom where they decompose, using up all the oxygen. Any oxygen dependent creatures die or move away to other seas.
Some creatures like jellyfish and clams, require almost no oxygen and live happily in such areas, feeding on the algae and zooplankton that drifts into the area to feed on it too.
The Gulf of Mexico for miles around the mouth of the Mississippi is one of the largest dead zones in the world. Huge jellyfish blooms are common in these areas sometimes covering hundreds of square miles, 20 feet deep, and so thick that there is almost no water between the individual jellies.
Clearing an area like that is an impossible dream. They might clear a path through it with deep net walls, but the stuff can grow in again overnight.
Send me an email (cals5839 at comcast dot net) and I’ll send you a copy of my ebook on jellyfish that goes into detail on the subject.