Contractors remove sea lettuce from Tauranga harbour. Photo / Alan Gibson
Contractors remove sea lettuce from Tauranga harbour. Photo / Alan Gibson
KEY POINTS:
Complaints about tonnes of stinky sea lettuce dumped by the surf on Mt Maunganui's beach in front of popular restaurants and million-dollar apartments, have prompted the council to clean it up for the first time.
Swimmers on the main beach next to the mountain this summer have hadto trudge through the green algae - which has a smell that has been likened to sulphur - to get to the water.
Smaller deposits are scattered along the coast down to the popular Tay St surfing beach.
"It provides some sort of obstruction in the water," Tauranga City Council's ranger for the coasts, Paul Stewart, said.
"If there's not a big surf it can be quite annoying for swimmers and surfers.
"I think when it starts to dry out and it's rotting, going through that decomposition-type thing, it's out in the sun and it's got that sea estuary-type smell. It's quite strong."
Blooms of sea lettuce occur during warmer temperatures linked to the El Nino weather pattern.
The alga, which is native to New Zealand, can be eaten by humans and is also used as a fertiliser.
It can be a hassle for fishermen if it gets caught in their nets and has been an obstacle for the council's contractors to get through while grooming the beach each day during summer.
Mr Stewart said council suspected the sea lettuce may be trapped in and around the mountain, bringing blooms to the foreshore.
Until now, the council had relied on the tide to take the sea lettuce out again.
But it is starting a "trial removal", using a tractor to scoop it up and take it away in the early morning.
"If we remove some over three or four days and it doesn't occur again over that period, that's an indication that the stuff is trapped there. If it comes back then it's probably just wait and see, wait until it's finished it's season of blooming."
The council already clears the flatter Tauranga Harbour side where the foreshore is also immersed in the lettuce.
The council has also received complaints about the stench on that side from residents in a neighbourhood where apartments are worth up to $3 million.
