‘They come, they see the seaweed and they leave’

This was the scene at Western Beach yesterday, where piles of seaweed lay rotting on the sand.

Beachgoers said it had been like this for nearly a fortnight, with no effort made to remove the algae.

Coupled to persistent concerns about sewage, it is ruining this beach which was once very popular, particularly for parents with young children who could play safely in the shallow waters.

“People don't come here as much as they used to,” said Suzanne Chichon, who runs the chiringuito at the beach.

“They come, they see the seaweed and they leave.”
Mrs Chichon, who played down claims that the sea was contaminated, said mothers of children who use the beach planned to clean up the seaweed themselves on Saturday.

“But we can only collect it up and put it in bags, we cannot take it away,” she told the Chronicle.

“At the moment, it is left there for days and sometimes weeks and it smells.”

“It is also not nice going into the water with it full of the seaweed.”