Beachgoers on one North Shore community are breathing a sigh of relief.
Residents in some parts of Manchester-by-the-Sea have been putting up with a nauseating stink for nearly a week; the sour smell coming from a red, invasive seaweed that washed ashore and blanketed several beaches.
Lurking beneath the water is the source of the pungent stink, which has finally been kicked out of the coastal community by the forces of nature.
"Nobody knew how long it was going to take to get out of here, so invasive it covered the entire beach,” said John Bediz.
Experts are worried about its potential long-term impacts on fishing and native wildlife. The reddish tint in the tide on Gray Beach is linked to an invasive seaweed from Japan. It’s inundated several different Massachusetts beaches in recent years, and local officials say this latest cause is the worst of it they’ve seen.
"Normal seaweed you can clean up, take to Gloucester and they'll process it with fertilizer. This stuff you can't do anything with it, you just have to wait until it washes out,” said Bediz.
And unlike regular seaweed, this stuff doesn't dry out, saturating the shoreline with a jello-like texture.
Public Works officials tell Boston 25 there's no evidence that it's hazardous to humans, but they've been worried about health concerns that could fester in the soggy, red piles that overstayed their welcome here.
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