Dubai Municipality has said it will close two beaches affected by a red tide and have warned people not to swim or go for fishing in the affected areas.
A municipality official said that they have detected patches of the naturally occurring red tide near the Burj Al Arab and Umm Suqeim park.
"We have asked coast zone management to shut down these two beaches as a precautionary measure. Our inspectors are going around the beaches to see if any more are affected," said Mohammed Abdul Rahman Hassan, head of the Marine Environment and Wildlife Unit.
He said that red tide is a natural phenomenon which would disappear as the unsettled weather improves. "It is not the first time that Dubai has been affected by a red tide. A similar problem happened two years ago and we advised people not to swim or eat fish caught in the waters," he said. "We don't know how many days this will last. The municipality is keeping a close watch on all the beaches," he said.
The Environment Agency in Abu Dhabi said it was monitoring whether any beaches in the emirate were also affected.
The Emirates Marine Env-ironment Group said it had surveyed the area and found the red tides to be receding.
Areas of Jumeirah beach near the Dubai Offshore Sailing Club were recently closed to the public due to sewage and toxic industrial waste getting into the sea. The beach was reopened after the tests proved negative for E-coli and heavy metals from industrial waste.
Red tide which scientists refer to as "algal bloom", occurs when algae multiply in the water and can often deplete oxygen or produce toxins.
© 7Days 2009
