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During the summer of 2021, beaches on the Basque Coast had to be closed due to toxic microalgae. Some bathers had suffered from breathing difficulties. These microalgae are placed under very close surveillance, in order to protect human health and oyster farming.
Off Noirmoutier (Vendee)the waters invite you to swim, shellfish and taste oysters. But these shells feed on microalgae, and some are sometimes toxic, causing diarrhea and vomiting. So, every 15 days, a team from theIfremer criss-crosses the area to take samples. Invisible, these microalgae feed many species in the ocean. HASIn the spring, they can proliferate until the color of the water changes to brown.
“They need good weather conditions. Stagnant water, sun, light and nutrients, which will serve as food for them to develop“, explains Yoann Le merrengineer atIfremer. That’s what he its spent during the summer of 2021, in the Basque Country. Swimming was prohibited on several beaches due to microalgae. 800 people had the symptom. However, only 175 microalgae are threatening, out of 5,000 known.
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