Evil weed in Baltic Sea puts marine life at risk

By Tony Paterson in Berlin from the Independent

Record summer temperatures, farm fertilisers and a lack of wind have created a gigantic carpet of evil-smelling weed covering large areas of the Baltic and threatening both marine life and seaside tourism, scientists warn.

The 377,000 sq km of blue-green algae, covering an area the size of Germany, has been identified by satellite cameras. It extends from Finland along the south coast of Sweden and surrounds the Danish island of Bornholm.

Scientists from the German section of the World Wide Fund for Nature in Hamburg have warned of the damaging effects of the weed. “These huge algae carpets hit the marine environment most,” said Jochen Lamp, a WWF project spokesman. “They kill plants and encourage the spread of dead zones on the sea bed which have no oxygen left in them.”

Picture EPA