RIMINI. Mucilage in the upper Adriatic, the expert dampens the tension: «Don’t panic, we need time to evaluate the phenomenon». For days the waters of the Riviera have been tinged with the unmistakable brown color which denotes the presence of algae. Some people from Bellaria, fishing enthusiasts, who set sail yesterday on a pleasure boat reported that «400 meters from the port of Rimini and up to 6 meters deep the sea was composed of a viscous carpet of mucilage which only minimally surfaced in surface”. Contacted, Simone D’Acunzo director of Cestha (experimental center for habitat protection) in Marina di Ravenna throws water on the fire. «It is – he begins – a natural phenomenon given the conformation of the Adriatic which is a closed sea with shallow waters». A sea, he continues, which suffers «the contributions coming from the fresh waters of the rivers that cross the Po Valley». Contributions, the expert further points out, which on the one hand constitute a wealth “given the plankton substrate they generate” but which on the other, however, can lead to the formation of mucilage. The causes? «A high supply of organic substances, the sudden increase in temperature in conjunction with the prolongation of high pressure conditions as well as further factors, which are not always known».
Although the mucilage “is unpleasant and can cause problems for marine life, storm surges can contribute to its dilution”. However, it is difficult to calculate the exact extent of the ongoing phenomenon, given that it takes days to evaluate it in synergy with the relevant bodies, such as Arpae.
