You may not recognize the name “Lyngbya”, but if you swim, boat, or watch manatees in Kings Bay you know what it looks and feels like. Lyngbya looks and feels like dark, slimy, strands of hair that seem to grow from canal bottoms and get tangled in long, floating mats.

Lyngbya, (pronounced “Ling-bee-ah”,) isn’t a plant at all … it’s an invasive blue-green algae that thrives in low-light conditions and has been darkening our waters.  Besides the look and feel — and the fact that it smells like rotten eggs — there are many more reasons to be concerned about it:

• Lyngbya mats are clogging the springs and reducing water flow, thereby reducing fresh water entering into Crystal River to flush out the salt water.
• Native plants and eelgrasses can’t grow because Lyngbya is blocking sunlight. Even underwater plants need light to grow.
• Manatees, turtles and other animals are suffering as Lyngbya kills off the native eelgrasses.
• Lyngbya is also depleting dissolved oxygen in the water which leads to fish kills and a loss of habitat for fish, shellfish and crabs
• Lyngbya causes skin irritations, eye infections, and breathing problems to some swimmers.
• For manatees and pets, it’s worse: Lyngbya is TOXIC if eaten!!

So what does all of this mean?  We must clean-up the suffocated, toxic canals. Our economy and our quality of life depend on our waterways. We ask everyone to help join in the effort. Click here to learn how you can get involved!