The City Council of Candlemas maintains the recommendation not to bathe in any of the beaches of the municipality due to the continued presence of microalgae on its coastline. The measure was initially adopted on Sunday and is in force when the Department of Health verified yesterday the flowering of these microorganisms near the Candelaria coast. The Biodiversity Service of the Canary Islands Government confirmed that it proceeded to collect samples for analysis.
A similar situation was recorded in Villa Mariana during the afternoon of last day two, which led the municipal government to advise against bathing on the beaches of Los Guanches and Punta Larga. The measure was in force for three days, until on Monday it lifted such a recommendation. Until last Sunday, when the problem was reproduced.
The municipal area of Health confirmed a gradual disappearance of microalgae early yesterday. In a statement, the local government assures that there was a gradual decrease in the localized spots during the late afternoon of Sunday and early morning on Monday. However, by mid-morning they spotted more microalgae in the vicinity of the rocks.
During several days
The recommendation not to bathe on the Candelaria coast will last for several days. The City Council demands that regular and potential users “be careful when bathing in the coming days”, as a consequence of the “intermittent presence” of microalgae. Likewise, the government group emphasizes that the presence of the cyanobacteria Trichodesmium erythraeum It is not linked to any discharge from the municipality’s submarine outfalls, “which have a continuous control and surveillance plan.”
The Biodiversity Service, attached to the Department of Ecological Transition, Fight against Climate Change and Territorial Planning of the Government of the Canary Islands, reports that the presence of microalgae was detected in the southern part of the island “a few days ago, after the passage of the last storm, but mainly in Candelaria». It is “a natural phenomenon” before which, as occurs when jellyfish are detected, “it is advisable to avoid bathing in areas of high concentrations” of this cyanobacteria.
almost residual
Only the coast of Candelaria presents this situation in the entire southeast coast of the Island. Contrary to what happened five years ago, neither the bathing areas of Güímar (El Puertito, in a special way), nor the beach of Las Eras (Fasnia) , neither Playa Grande (Punta de Abona, Arico), nor in the Southwest (especially on the coast of Santiago del Mount Teide) the presence of microalgae has been detected.
One of the aspects that draws the attention of the public is the bad smell that the accumulation of this cyanobacteria gives off. However, the authorities continue to maintain that it is not a toxic element. Thesis in which there was practically unanimity in the microalgae crisis of 2017.
Today it is still not recommended to swim at the beaches of Candelaria, La Hornilla, Olegario, El Alcalde, Cho Vito, La Viuda, Punta Larga, El Pozo and Las Caletillas. That is, the entire coastline of Villa Mariana.
More frequent due to weather
Global warming appears as a factor that favors the greater frequency of this phenomenon, which is not exclusive to the Canary Islands. This point is made by the scientific community, which has come to raise, as a consequence of prolonged exposure to cyanobacteria, that it can cause itching, irritation of the mucosa and some respiratory problem. Microalgae make up a phenomenon related to global change and will be common when specific atmospheric conditions occur: absence of trade winds for several weeks, changes in tides and water temperature exceeding 23 degrees, as well as the recording of several episodes of haze The most important episode recorded in Tenerife and the Canary Islands occurred in the summer of 2017. | jam
