CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Brown seaweed has washed up on local beaches recently.
Park rangers have been receiving a lot of questions concerning sargassum that has been washing up from the Gulf.
Eric Ehrlich is the park interpreter for Mustang Island State Park and recently answered the community's questions surrounding the seaweed. He spoke with 3NEWS and said, "In the comments section, people were kind of going crazy about how bad it is. Yes, when it's really thick, it can have some problems in certain habitats like coral reefs and seagrass sea beds."
Ehrlich explained that the sargassum washing up in this habitat won't be an issue. "It's going to be a dune nourishing process," he said.
Since it is a natural process, the park doesn't rake it. It eventually decomposes and is used as a fertilizer.
"We do try our best to go through and handpick out all the litter," Ehrlich said. "So, we have an army of volunteers that come out. We have these different stations that dispense onion sacks for people like regular visitors who want to pick up some trash while they're here."
Beachgoer Paul DiNicola told 3NEWS, "It was a little shocking. I mean we definitely expected to see some seaweed. We just came from South Padre Island."
DiNicola and his family have been travelling across the United States in an RV full-time for the past year and a half.
"Travelling full-time, we see a lot of stuff," he said. "So, we know it's not going to harm you, whatsoever. But it's kind of like, where do we go on the beach because there's so much of it."
Despite the beach's appearance, DiNicola said life is pretty good right now. "There's no rain, there's no storm," he said. "We just had smores with the rangers."
Does it smell? Yes and no. "So far it's been kind of fresh," Ehrlich said. "The sun is not out. So, it's not quite ripe yet. But when it gets thick, yeah there's going to be some smell associated with it. Kind of like rotten eggs."
Although it may be an eyesore to some visitors, the park interpreter told 3NEWS this is the habitat for a lot of sea creatures.
"The seaweed itself feels a little scratchy when you're in the water," Ehrlich said. "Especially if you're touching the dried-up stuff. For the most part the seaweed itself is harmless."
Ehrlich has heard of some cases of respiratory irritation. He said potentially if the sargassum gets really thick and it starts to decay, it can release some of those toxic gases. It also may carry heavy metals like arsenic.
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