Dubai’s green warriors fighting algae off Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali waters

The sea surrounding Palm Jebel Ali and Palm Jumeirah in Dubai is currently experiencing an algae bloom that has forced an environment group, a group of volunteers and master-developer Nakheel to action.

Teams of divers are currently bringing out as much as 500kg of algae, with four teams of six devoted to the task every day.

"EMEG is Nakheel's appointed contractor for the cleaning of Palm Jumeirah's near-shore waters.

“This includes removing algae, which can be more of a challenge after the usual summer growth season.

“The contract is part of our overall maintenance activities on The Palm,” a Nakheel spokesperson told Emirates 24|7.

“Nakheel continues to explore effective and efficient ways to flush and circulate water at Palm Jumeirah in order to maintain and enhance water quality," added the Nakheel spokesperson.

Palm Jumeirah is worst off, says Ali Saqar Sultan Al Suweidi, president of Emirates Marine Environmental Group (EMEG), the non-profit organisation contracted by Nakheel.

“When the algae sink to the bottom, photosynthesis cannot occur and the algae grow black. This creates a very bad smell,” says Ali.

Sometimes the EMEG team is joined by a group of volunteers from Al Mahara Diving Center.

“These are people who offered to help, which is incredible,” says Ali.

BC, a South African resident of Dubai and part-time diver geared up last Friday to join the team. “I am happy with this initiative because we have done so much damage to the ocean. 

An additional benefit of the clean-up is that the algae that are collected is dried and used as an absorbent for oil spills.

“I think it is amazing that something which grows naturally and is so destructive here can be used to clean up oil spills,” says BC. “I would come and help clean up the algae as often as I can.”