Algae blooming, which gives off a fluorescent green colour to the sea water and causes a stink, is not toxic, said the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries on Wednesday.
The algae or phyto-plankton, blooms twice a year for some three months in the Sea of Oman and the Arabian Sea surrounding the Sultanate, especially in Al Batinah North and South, Muscat, and South Al Sharqiyah governorates. “However, if you notice dead marine creatures, please inform the specialists at Marine and Fisheries Sciences Centre,” the ministry advised.
The ministry said the plankton grows more during winter due to change in water temperatures, movement of sea currents loaded with nutrients.
“This phenomenon can also occur during summer if one of these stimulating factors is present. Plankton breeding is one of the natural phenomena that occur in various seas and oceans where the colour of the water changes clearly, and water shades vary between red and brown, orange, light yellow and green, as the resulting colour depends on the colour of the plankton,” the ministry said.
Plankton grows due to lack of oxygen in water, which also causes death of fish and other marine creatures. The stink accompanying the alage is a result of the decomposition of these planktons and the death of marine creatures.
As part of the periodic monitoring of beaches in the Sultanate, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, represented by the Marine and Fisheries Sciences Centre and its other departments in the governorates, collects samples and analyses them to know the density of phyto-planktons in sea water.
Dr Khalid bin Abdullah al Hashmi, author of Handbook of Marine Phytoplankton in the Waters of the Sultanate of Oman, said that out of 4,000 phyto-planktons around the world, about 248 species have been identified on the Sultanate’s coasts, of which 26 can be classified among the harmful types.
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