PESCARA. During the latest inspections carried out by the technicians of Arta (regional agency for environmental protection), following a report from the Coast Guard, the presence of the natural phenomenon of mucilage was found along the Abruzzo coast. These are aggregates of polysaccharides, i.e. complex sugars, which do not represent a problem for the health of bathers and appear in the form of strips or networks, of small and large dimensions, of organic magma. Both yesterday and today, mucilage was observed both in suspension and on the bottom in almost all stretches of the Abruzzo coast. The sighting began 3 days ago, about 3 miles from the coast; during the checks on 27 and 28 June, more significant outcrops were detected.
Off the coast of Francavilla al Mare, yesterday, a strip of mucilage was observed within 300 meters of the coastline, approximately 5 meters wide and tens of meters long, accumulated along the current front. Today the algae are present on almost the entire coast, creating apprehension and concern among bathers. In this regard, it is recalled that there is no danger for humans, apart from the annoying sensation and, in rare cases, the itching that can cause contact with the “macroflakes” of mucilage. In recent days the phenomenon, originating from Veneto, had been observed along the coasts of Marche.
The conditions of abundant rainfall in this last period, which enriched the sea with nutrients through river inputs, have probably favored, together with the high temperatures, the proliferation of blooms of phytoplankton species which can secrete mucous-type substances as a physiological process of all natural. ARTA will continue to monitor the situation and, if the phenomenon were to intensify, it will carry out additional sampling, with analytical investigations, which will concern, in addition to the normal biological parameters, also the determination of chemical parameters, nutrients and phytoplankton.
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