Sea slime and slugs worry beachgoers, workers (PHOTOS)

A bed of dark seaweed has been gathering on Destin’s beaches making some people cry “oil” and seasoned beach workers raise an eyebrow.

“The seaweed is normal when we get surf, but I have never seen it this color before,” said Robert Herrin, who has worked beach chairs for the past three seasons and has lived here his whole life.

The seaweed is dark brown; normally it’s bright green. A thick carpet of it has been coating parts of the shoreline by continuously splashing up in the tiny waves heavy and black full of the muck.

Herrin, who was maintaining a row of empty beach chairs, said it’s especially upsetting because he really counted on being busy for Labor Day weekend.

“No one is going to want to sit here, and I don’t blame them,” he said Friday afternoon behind Silver Shells condominium.

To see a photo gallery of seaweed and slugs on the beach click here.

RELATED STORY: BP workers clean tar balls, sea slugs off Walton's beaches

The grassy muck is not only an eyesore; it is giving off a slight scent of rotting sea life. The stench is probably a direct outcome of the dead sea slugs, tiny crabs and sand fleas that are caught in it.

“The birds are loving it,” Herrin commented on the seaweed’s one and only fan.

Senior lifeguard Robert Sanclemente has been working the beaches here for seven years, and like Herrin, he says has seen the seaweed here before but it’s “never looked like this.”

He’s been keeping a close eye on it for the past few weeks and noticed the sea slugs let off tiny squirts of dark ink.

“It’s total speculation on my part, but I think that’s what is making this color,” said Sanclemente. “They are alive when they first wash up, but dry up and die pretty fast.”

Sancelemte said the slugs were especially apparent on Henderson Beach. Deputies in Walton County also responded to reports of the squishy black blobs. The deputy reported that BP-contracted crews were cleaning up the slugs.

Roxann Frey has lived in the area for about 11 years and reached out to the Log pointing out the curious happenings on the beaches.

She too, has never seen anything like it.

Frey has walked her dog along Topsail beach for years now and like many people, couldn’t help but notice all the sea slugs that have washed up on shore.

“I really just want to know whether the water is safe,” she said.

She knows the water has been tested for oil, but thinks it should be tested for dispersants as well.

She has called the Health Department with hopes of finding answers but said her phone call was passed off to a few people before ultimately reaching a dead end.

For now, the copious amounts of dead slugs are being blamed on the seaweed.

But why there is so much “June Grass” on the beaches this September is still a mystery.

“There is something in the water that is making it bloom like crazy,” said Herrin.

He and other beach workers have made some phone calls to BP, to either get a clean up crew on it, or at least bring it to their attention.

“They just drive up, take a good look, and keep going,” he said. “It’s not an issue to them.”

Herrin said a lot of people think it is oil at first, until they take a closer look. And while most would agree it is better to have seaweed than oil, both beach workers and beach-goers can’t help but think there is some connection with the spill.

“It’s definitely not natural,” said Herrin.

PHOTOS

• To see a photo gallery from Club Overboard Saturday night, click here.
• To see a bird's eye view of Crab Island, click here.
• Click here to see a gallery of photos from The Track in Destin
• Click here to see a gallery of photos from Big Kahuna's water park
• Click here to see a gallery of boaters at Norreigo Point
• View photos from Beasley Park and Gulf Island National Seashore. »
• See how things were on The Boardwalk. »
  
• View photos of Crab Island. »
• View photos from Destin beaches. »