Falmouth beaches are often criticised for having too much seaweed. During autumn and winter months the amount of seaweed washing onto the beaches massively increases. This is due to the regular rain and wind that comes with stormy weather.There are many debates around whether the seaweed that piles up should be cleared off the main beaches to make them seem more appealing or if nature should be left alone to do its thing.
Piles of seaweed on Falmouth’s main beach Gyllyngvase
Falmouth’s main beaches Swanpool, Gyllyngvase and Castle are popular attractions for tourists and locals due to their sandy shores, cafes and idyllic blue waters. Like many beaches, both are often covered in a layer of seaweed near the shoreline. In some towns, the seaweed is cleared away, however in Falmouth it is left alone due to being a crucial part of the marine ecosystem.
There have been both tourists and local residents who are angry with the fact that Falmouth’s beaches do not always look like they do on postcards. It is possible that the state of the beaches, especially after a storm, could harm the tourist appeal of the areas where seaweed has piled up.Not everyone is a fan of the seaweed. Many view it as a dirty, slimy and unhygienic substance. Sea swimmers whom head down to the beaches in the early hours of the morning hoping for a cold water dip, regularly have to check the Surfers Against Sewage app on their phones to see if it safe and clean to swim. It can be hard to distinguish between the smells of rotting seaweed and a sewage leak. Thus leading people to not frequent the beaches as much as they would come the colder months, out of fear of swimming in dirty water.
Dogs playing amongst the seaweed along the shoreline
However, it has hundreds of benefits, such as being used in foraging and cooking, for farming and agriculture as well as artwork. I spoke to a local named Holly Sproul who regularly wanders down to Falmouth’s beaches to forage seaweed. Holly said, “After a storm has blown in, I spend much of my time looking for Sugar Kelp and Pepper Dulse.” Both of which are a common species of seaweed found along Falmouth’s shore. Whilst walking amongst the rock pools on Castle Beach, Holly told me, “seaweed is a great food to forage, it is not only delicious when cooked in the simplest of ways but also really nutritious.”
Falmouth has many areas in which nature is left to its own accord. Locals have argued that it is essential to manage the popular beach attractions of Falmouth to ensure a steady income remains, which arises predominantly from the tourist industry. The amount of seaweed that washes up onto the beaches leaves people having to hunt to find clean bits of sand to sit on. In an article from The Falmouth Packet, a local named Nigel Carpenter stated, “Our beaches are extremely important to the local economy and thousands of local families depend upon visitors coming to spend money. Our tourism business is under threat unless rapid action is taken to clean up and carefully manage the beaches in a considerate way.” Another Falmouth resident contacted The Falmouth Packet to say: “I was at Gyllyngvase Beach on Monday, and there were people there asking ‘why are we here?’, there was seaweed everywhere. It is horrible, and it harbours flies which makes it really unpleasant. It is disgusting.” This shows the importance of maintaining the popular beaches of Falmouth due to both the tourism industry and people’s ability to enjoy a day out in nature. However, alongside the negatives of seaweed washing up onto Falmouth’s serene beaches and coast comes the question of just letting nature be. Seaweed is viewed by many as a natural phenomenon. The tides and what they wash in is not something human’s have control over.