VIDEO: Seaweed removal starts today

Sunday 07 August 2016

Seaweed is to be cleared from St Aubin's Bay today, and for the next couple of days, by the States' 'surf-rake' machine.

The Department for Infrastructure will be doing the clean up, and says that this is the first opportunity for an "effective larger scale clearance."

The build-up of seaweed on St Aubin's beach is a perennial problem, but the Infrastructure department says there are problems with cleaning it up, such as:

• "Clearance is only effective for a few days after the top a spring tide when the seaweed would otherwise be stranded at the high level of the beach
• Sea lettuce deposits further down the beach at St Aubin’s Bay are also lying in an ecologically sensitive area, on top of sea grass beds - a protected marine growth, and can’t be easily moved without causing damage -  DfI is prohibited from removing seaweed in these areas or driving machinery over them
• Due to environmental licencing restrictions, DfI is not authorised to remove seaweed from stony parts of the beach, in particular the First Tower part of the beach"
• Light deposits collected by the DfI Surf-Rake machine can go to La Collette to be mixed with other composting material – however there is no capacity for large quantities and there would be potential odour issues
• As current methods would only remove sea lettuce contaminated with sand it could not be considered for going to the Energy from Waste Plant due to potential damage to the plant by the sand
• The high salt content in the sea lettuce limits the attractiveness of depositing it directly onto fields."

Deputy Eddie Noel, Minister for Infrastructure said: “There is a lot of misunderstanding about the causes of the sea lettuce on our beaches and what we can do about it once it is here.  It is not a problem just for us but occurs in various places across the world.  There are no easy solutions. We are doing the best job we can working within the existing constraints. We continue to look for better alternatives.”

He recently went over to France to look at a new machine for clearing up the seaweed, and says the department is close to doing a deal with the French owners to bring it over.