Death by seaweed

[L Austin France]

An interesting read , especially for those in Brittany
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/m ... er-seaweed

[MAD87]

I don't think that's the first case. I seem to remember a woman rider 10+ years ago dying from the same seaweed. Most communes since then remove the weed before it becomes a major health hazard.

[Blaze]

This has been a subject of contention for many years now. Several dogs have died and people have complained of feeling unwell after walking on or near beaches covered in the green algue, which smells horrible.

This green algue is Ulva armoricana which grows well on the north coast of Brittany, according to France Nature Environment. It likes the deep clear water, but apparently the water, particularly on the Bay of Saint Brieuc, is saturated with phosphorus and nitrogen which come from nitrates. No need to guess where the nitrates come from ....
https://reporterre.net/Algues-vertes-en ... e-probleme

In 2025, the State awarded damages to the family of the jogger who died in 2016. I
https://www.franceinfo.fr/economie/empl ... 35195.html
According to this article, it's reckoned that with increasingly dry weather, the risk of nitrates seeping into the rivers is decreasing. But what about wet winters or, for that matter, any spell of wet weather that can saturate the ground enough ??

Every time I hear calls to support our local farmers, I feel a reluctance when I see what they spread on the ground, the ditches that are filled in, the hedges ripped out and trees cut down. Then I am sickened by those who accept money from the State to replant .... The same famers that say they save money by not having to maintain hedges .... but that's a different subject.

[RobertArthur]

Support from Paris and from Brussels, how much EU agricultural funding does each country get?

" France received the biggest share of the EU’s agricultural funding in 2023 (a total of €9.5 billion combined from the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development) followed by Spain (€7.1 billion), Germany (€6.4 billion), Italy (€6.1 billion) and Poland (€5.1 billion)." More information here.

If you’re not immune to the simple logic of Ohm’s law, you do have to wonder how some populists in France find the whole EU business so troublesome and unnecessary that they’d prefer to head towards a Frexit. It seems to me that would be difficult to explain to the farming community, which is, after all, a significant part of the French electorate. Questions, questions..... I think I’d be better off taking one of the stack of amplifiers needing repair (in the queue...) and putting it back on the workbench.

[Blaze]

Another issue that's raised its head again is the theft of GPS from tractors. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I remember seeing beautifully worked land over 30 years ago without the need for such gadgetry. I'm not suggesting farmers should go back to Fergie-type tractors, heaven forbid ! But I'm never surprised to hear of yet another farmer giving up or going bust because he's over-spent/over-borrowed, probably on the advice of some incompetent accountant.

Seaweed (not the green algue) makes an excellent fertiliser, being full of nutrients. Som are good for us too and can be picked and eaten directly.

We've been down to Penmarc'h on the southerly point of Finistère and there they have a problem with seaweed but not the green kind. It's washed up on the shore and when it dries in the sun, the stench is horrendous and attracts sand flies which bite !

[RobertArthur]

Having a keen eyesight used to be enough.

[Hotrodder]

I've known about this problem for years, and also known that no national government can do anything about it. Farmers run the show around here. You'd have to see what they get away with around here when they kick off.

[exile]

While there is no doubt that Nitrogen and Phosphorous levels in water largely come from agriculture, it is worth remembering that YOU are also responsible for some of the levels.

Nitrogen in your pee is difficult to extract at treatment plants and ditto phosphorus, used widely as a water softener. But I don't have a water softener. You don't need to. It is in your washing detergent, dish washer tablets and sometimes in your shampoo and shower gel.

As for GPS, this is part of a move by farmers to reduce their dependence on fertilisers and pesticides. The GPS allows the farmer to know within a metre exactly where he is in the field. Previous analyses (chemical, visual and the like) will have identified precise spots where there are pest attacks, where there is nutrient deficiency etc. So the tractor passing over the field, literally adjusts the feed of fertiliser or insecticide on a metre by metre basis. This saves on the use of chemicals and means less run off into rivers and bays.

If you want/need less concentration of pollutants in the water, we either stop using fertilisers and accept lower yield and have to reward the farmers with higher prices or they have to use these chemicals more intelligently - hence GPS.