The “killer algae” that have engulfed large swathes of the Mediterranean off
the coast of France, Spain and Italy have now turned up in the US. Last week,
scientists finished clearing a patch of Caulerpa taxifolia from a
coastal lagoon in Carlsbad, California. They have been treating it with chlorine
since its discovery in June. Divers have also found a second patch 90 kilometres
further north in Huntington Beach. Bob Hoffman of the National Marine Fisheries
Service warns, “If it were allowed to grow, it would completely take over the
system, perhaps even the open coastline.”
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