A new approach to macroalgal bloom control in eutrophic, shallow-water, coastal areas

In summer 2012, an experiment was conducted in a shallow eutrophic lagoon with poor water exchange to determine the consequences of harvesting algae on the algal mat itself, which was traversed and repeatedly disturbed by large harvester boats. Four areas with high macroalgal density, measuring half a hectare each, were selected. Two were subjected to frequent disturbance of the algal mat and sediment (12 two-hour operations over a 38-day period) and the other two were left undisturbed as control. The following variables were determined: 1) water column physical chemistry and nutrients; 2) redox potential, nutrients and organic load in sediments; 3) C, N and P content of algal thalli; 4) macroalgal biomass. In 2013, a further experiment was conducted on a larger scale. Biomass was estimated in a high-density mat measuring 235 ha, where macroalgae were harvested and stirred up by four harvesting boats, and in two high-density mats measuring 150 and 120 ha, left undisturbed as control (9.15, 9.92 and 3.68 kg/m(2), respectively). In the first experiment, no significant changes were observed in the water column. In sediment the main variation was a significant reduction in labile organic matter in the disturbed areas and a significant increase mainly in refractory organic matter in the undisturbed areas. Biomass showed a significant drastic reduction in disturbed areas and substantial stability in undisturbed areas. In the large-scale experiment, the biomass of the disturbed mat declined by about 63%, only 6.5% of which was due to harvesting. On the other hand, the undisturbed mat with higher density underwent a natural decline in biomass of about 23% and the other increased by about 50%. These results demonstrate that disturbance of high-density mat in shallow water by boats can cause decay of the mat. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.