AN invasive species of seaweed that seaside cities close to Malaga are spending hundreds of thousands to take away may as a substitute be repurposed for revenue – however native governments are lacking the chance, scientists warn.
Maria Altamirano, professor of botany at Malaga University, defined that seaweed could be processed to be used “in biotechnology, as a uncooked materials, as an vitality supply, or in healthcare” – producing income that might assist offset clean-up prices.
But underneath the Andalucian authorities’s present administration plan, the algae collected from Malaga’s seashores might solely be transformed into compost for agriculture – with a lot of it successfully going to waste.
Rugulopteryx okamurae, a species of brown algae native to the Pacific, grew to become invasive within the Mediterranean round 2015, when it was first noticed close to Gibraltar.
Since then, it has brought on disastrous biodiversity loss within the space and saddled Costa del Sol cities with hundreds of thousands in removing bills.
Altamirano mentioned the Andalusian authorities’s technique focuses on placing a part of the seaweed to business use – however falls in need of mitigating its environmental influence or correctly compensating native administrations and fishers, who bear the brunt of clean-up prices.
She added: “[We] ought to assist cut back the pressure on native councils and the fishing sector, not enhance the income of a non-public firm that has not suffered any hurt.”
Fishers have additionally criticised Andalucia’s administration plan as “ineffective.”
Maria del Carmen Diaz, president of the Spanish Federation of Artisanal Fishing (FENAPA), mentioned: “[the plan] focuses solely on the seaside wash-ups and is proscribed to producing compost for agriculture inside a single particular venture.”
“It doesn’t open up potentialities for different industrial actions,” she added, noting that the algae might be used to make “cosmetics, footwear, bricks, or packaging” and create “jobs and alternate options to fishing.”
The seaweed invasion has weighed heavy on Costa del Sol seaside cities thus far – with native administrations shouldering huge bills and months of backbreaking clean-up work.
Estepona has cleared 5,900 tonnes thus far in 2025, with an estimated additional value of greater than €1 million because of elevated labour and assets.
In comparability, the council eliminated 3,400 tonnes in 2023 and reached a report 9,700 tonnes in 2024. In 2020 and 2021, municipal crews cleared 2,700 and a couple of,800 tonnes, respectively.
Mijas allotted greater than €690,000 for seaweed removing in 2024. As of 2025, nearly 2,500 tonnes have been eliminated at a price of €515,000.
Marbella cleared roughly 3,000 tonnes between June and August 2025, spending practically €490,000.
Over the primary eight months of the 12 months, greater than 4,600 tonnes had been faraway from its 27 kilometres of shoreline, costing town €750,000.
Manilva eliminated 1,300 tonnes final summer time, at an estimated value of €112,000 — a rise of 150 to 200 tonnes in comparison with the identical interval in 2024.
Meanwhile, Casares invested €30,000 to take away greater than 600 tonnes of algae from its 3 kilometres of shoreline between June and August, with figures much like these of 2024.
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