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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Stephen Burgen in Barcelona

Thousands of tons of invasive seaweed ‘overwhelming’ Spanish beaches

Estepona Town Hall cleaning staff use a JCB to remove Rugulopteryx okamurae from a beach.
A digger is used to remove Rugulopteryx okamurae from a beach in Spain Photograph: Jorge Guerrero/AFP/Getty Images

Thousands of tonnes of an aggressive invasive seaweed from east Asia are piling up on the beaches of the strait of Gibraltar and Spain’s southern coast in what local environmentalists say is a major threat to the region’s biodiversity.

Since May, the local authority in Cádiz has removed 1,200 tonnes of the alga Rugulopteryx okamurae from La Caleta, the city’s most popular beach, including 78 tonnes in a single day.

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