By Johnny McNabb
Copyright newsletter
The warnings have been put in place at the two-mile long stretch of Portstewart Strand and at nearby Downhill since Tuesday (September 23). It comes after an assessment by DAERA’s bathing waters team at Portstewart indicated that blue-green algae has been recorded at “a red alert level” in accordance with the Inter-Agency Blue-Green Algae Protocol. In a post on social media, the National Trust has urged members of the public to “remain vigilant” and to stay away from the water. They further advise that people don’t play with scum or mats on the shore, don’t let animals drink water, eat algae or swim, don’t swim, don’t fish or wade, or don’t boat or kayak. It has been communicated that DAERA will continue to monitor Portstewart Strand and advise of any changes. Meanwhile, the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council have also issued a bathing alert at Downhill beach. In a statement, a spokesperson said: “Council has been made aware that blue-green algae may be present in waters at Downhill Strand. Currently beach users are asked to be vigilant to the possible presence of Blue Green Algae.” It added: “At this stage Council would urge vigilance at Castlerock beach.” Exposure usually happens from swimming, drinking contaminated water, or eating contaminated fish/shellfish and can cause skin irritation, vomiting and headaches to humans. Pets are at much higher risk and can even die with exposure. Blue-green algae returned to Lough Neagh for the third successive year. Noxious blooms of the algae covered large parts of Lough Neagh, the UK’s largest freshwater lake by surface area. The condition of the lough resulted in the eel-fishing season being cut short this summer. As a result, experts will attempt to improve water quality in Lough Neagh using an advanced space technology monitoring system following the spread of the noxious algae. A total of £800,000 has been awarded by the UK’s Space Agency’s unlocking space for government programme to develop an operational remote sensing solution that predicts, detects and monitors blue-green algae. The funding was announced as part of phase 2 of a small business research initiative (SBRI) programme that will run to April 2026.
