Discoloured sea water caused by algae

Wed, 11 Jul 2018

The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture insists the discoloured sea water around the Island is a natural phenomenon.

Patches of red sea water have been spotted around the coast in recent days, particularly in Douglas, Laxey and Ramsey.

Scientists from the Government Laboratory, which is run by DEFA, took samples and found the discolouration has been caused by Noctiluca scintillans - which is a type of algae.

The Department confirmed the algae is non-toxic, but advises members of the public from swimming through patches of water that are discoloured, as the algae can attract jellyfish.