Seaweed

The term 'seaweed' is usually reserved for the larger algae. Seaweed provides food and shelter for many seashore animals.

Seaweed can clog ocean baths. In the early twentieth century seaweed build-up at the gentlemen's baths at Gerringong made them unusable or so men using the women's baths claimed. The caretaker at the gentlemen's baths agreed, maintaining that he couldn't stay up all night to keep the seaweed out of the pool.

Algal growth around the pool walls and paths, especially over summer can cause slippery conditions that many pool users do not expect. At some ocean baths, warning signs try to acquaint pool users with this risk. Chemicals used to clean the pool must now be selected so as not to harm the pool users or the other marine organisms that inhabit the rock platform. Cleaning with high-pressure saltwater is now the preferred method for removing algae.

Microscopic algae in the form of red tides can make ocean baths and ocean beaches unusable.
 

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