HOLLYWOOD, FLA. (WSVN) - Coming to a South Florida beach this summer are miles and miles of smelly seaweed, and beachgoers are already starting to feel the impact.
The brown blobs are just going to keep washing ashore, something expected to take months.
7News cameras on Friday captured beachgoers walking alongside a large amount of seaweed that washed ashore on Fort Lauderdale Beach.
“It doesn’t bother me. I’m still gonna go jump in the water, you know,” said beachgoer Steve Stuff.
Beachgoers are divided on the seaweed.
“I’ve already been three times, and it’s not even 12:30 yet,” said a beachgoer.
Others won’t touch it.
“This is horrible, I’m not even going to get in the water today,” another beachgoer.
Regardless how people feel, it’s something they are going to have to deal with this year.
From South Beach to Haulover, Hollywood to Fort Lauderdale, the sargassum bloom is so big it is visible from space.
“It doubled in size in January from December,” said Dr. Lapointe, a researcher at Florida Atlantic University.
“Yeah, we are not fans of the seaweed,” said a beachgoer. “Literally, we came last weekend, and the water was absolutely crystal-clear and perfect. So South Florida is very familiar every other weekend. Just check back and see if it’s better.”
Friday night, 7News cameras captured seaweed washing shore on Hollywood Beach, causing a problem for people out fishing like Enzo Carlos.
“It got tangled really easily because mostly at night, you can’t really see stuff,” he said.
There are 13 million tons of seaweed, which is twice the size of the U.S.
As for what causes the seaweed, scientists are not really sure. They have been studying it since 2011, so they are still learning a lot.
Regardless of the seaweed trouble, the beaches Friday were filled with families as they enjoy the holiday weekend.
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