THE problem of ‘slime’ in the waters of Ayia Napa has resurfaced, with people complaining that it ruins their beach experience.
John Higgins, currently on his fifth holiday to Ayia Napa said, “Nissi is such a picturesque beach and when the slime isn’t there, the colour of the water is really amazing and reminds me of the Bahamas. But the current state of the water is very unpleasant and the slime totally puts me off swimming there. When I put my mask on and look under the water, I can’t see anything because it’s so dirty and you really need to swim out to deeper waters for it to clear up.”
Zoe Lytrides, a 29-year-old Nicosia resident, was another unhappy visitor to the area. “I hadn’t been to Nissi Beach for a long time and decided to go again recently. I remembered it as a beautiful beach with crystal clear waters. I was seriously disappointed. Not only was the beach absolutely crammed with people lying like sardines in a tin on the beach, but the worst shock was when I actually went into the water. It was full of this green, slimy, hairy algae. It was absolutely disgusting.
“Being a really hot day I thought I would brave it, as I really wanted to cool myself down, so I persevered for a few minutes. However, the algae was clinging to me and sticking to my skin, getting in my hair and I it really made me feel sick and like I was going to catch some kind of disease. I couldn’t stand it and walked out of the water peeling bits of algae from me and from underneath my bikini.
“Some people found it very funny and were throwing the algae at one other, but I thought it was nasty, dried off and left the beach altogether, thoroughly disappointed.”
Myroula Hadjichristoforou, Senior Fisheries and Marine Research Officer at the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment, yesterday told the Cyprus Mail that, “this is not something new, as we have had this eutrophication (a process where water receives excess nutrients that stimulate excessive plant growth) problem for the last four or five years. What you see in the water is green algae known as cladophora (malla), which is a filamentous nitrophilous species, meaning that it thrives in environments enriched with nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorous). These nutrients come from various sources in the area, such as agriculture and aquaculture, as well as other effluents enriched with nutrients.”
She noted that “cladophora usually appears within the area between Liopetri and Nissi Beach, with Protaras and Cape Greco not affected. It’s a nuisance but not unhealthy and does not contain any dangerous substances.”
She also mentioned that “the Cyprus marine environment is one of the most oligotrophic marine environments in the world, therefore, any nutrient inputs in this environment results in episodic eutrophication events and subsequently to the disturbance of the marine ecosystem.”
She went on to say that, “cladophora usually appears in April, when temperatures start to rise and the sea is calm and there are no strong currents. In addition, the long period of dry weather, in combination with sudden strong storms doesn’t help the situation as these wash out to sea the nutrients derived from fertilisers.”
Asked if anything is being done to combat the problem, Hadjichristoforou replied that, “the Fisheries and Marine Research Department look into the situation by monitoring the marine environment every year. We work closely with local authorities and send them special nets, which they use to trap the algae. In addition, all hotels in affected areas clean their beaches every morning.”
Ayia Napa Municipality was yesterday unavailable for comment.
