the massive amounts of seaweed currently being washed ashore.

"When sea-borne seaweed floats in to Bermuda, it does so over a period of time and sometimes in large quantities as now,'' said a Government spokesman yesterday.

"It is not practical to try to keep the beaches completely clear at such times.'' The spokesman was responding to a recent complaint about the poor conditions of Horseshoe Bay and other beaches during the winter from a woman who refused to give her name.

She stated that she and others walked along Horseshoe Beach regularly during the winter and were annoyed that its condition was allowed to deteriorate through the build up of seaweed during the winter months.

She claimed that this was because the beach was only kept clean for visitors to the Island during the summer and that Government did not care about the locals who continued to use it during the tourism off season.

However, the Government spokesman pointed out that seaweed tended to float onto the beaches during the winter and not in the summer and once here it served an important purpose.

"Seaweed is an important part of the ecology of the beaches, inasmuch as it helps to stabilise the sand and prevent erosion,'' he said.

Mess from the sea: It is the time of year when a massive amount of seaweed is washed ashore around the Island's coast.

GOVERNMENT GVT