About a hundred miles north of Miami on the Atlantic Coast, the town of Stuart is a picturesque waterfront community — with homes, restaurants and parks overlooking the St. Lucie Estuary. But in many areas now, when you approach the water, the first thing you notice is the smell.
"There's no way to describe it," says John Skinner, a boat salesman in Stuart.
But he still tries. "I would say hundreds of dead animals that have been baking in the sun for weeks."
About a hundred miles north of Miami on the Atlantic Coast, the town of Stuart is a picturesque waterfront community — with homes, restaurants and parks overlooking the St. Lucie Estuary. But in many areas now, when you approach the water, the first thing you notice is the smell.
"There's no way to describe it," says John Skinner, a boat salesman in Stuart.
But he still tries. "I would say hundreds of dead animals that have been baking in the sun for weeks."
The cause of the foul smell is a massive algae bloom that has affected beaches and fishing in communities along the St. Lucie River. The blue-green algae is especially worrisome because it can be toxic and harmful to people and animals that come into contact with it.
In Stuart, Skinner says a thick layer of the blue-green algae began accumulating on the water in the marina last month. It's now a couple of inches thick in some areas — a greenish muck that coats the docks and the boats. He says the muck is hurting his sales.
"I have people that have bought boats and don't want to put it in the water," Skinner says. "And people who don't want to buy a boat because it's disgusting in there. They don't want to put it in. It stains the boats, it smells horrible and it's toxic."
The blue-green algae is called cyanobacteria. It can release toxins that affect the liver and nervous system.
Imag credit: Greg Allen/NPR
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