Seaweed covering Bermuda's shores is both a menace and a miracle – helping to upset tourists seeking the pink sand, but also creating the beaches they love.

Even the Minister of Environment and Sports, Elvin James commented on the growing mounds of the Sargassum seaweed he noticed building up on Horseshoe beach yesterday morning.

He thanked the Department of Parks staff for their effort to clean the beaches even though their tractors have broken down and they are struggling with just one.

"As I was walking at Horseshoe Bay early this morning, I noted that there was more seaweed on the beach than I normally see," he said.

"Later that day the beach had been cleared thanks to the hard work of the Parks staff who were able to use their lone operational beach tractor as well as other equipment to remove the seaweed from the beach."

Last month in response to questions from this paper about the tractors, the Department said that they were waiting for parts from overseas for the machines.

But he added that Horseshoe beach, Turtle Cove, Clearwater beach and Somerset Long Bay are all regularly raked by the Department in the meantime.

And explaining the recent build-up, a spokesperson for the Department of Parks said that after a few days of high seas and wind, large quantities of brown and purple seaweed washed onto Bermuda's beaches.

According to conservation officer Jeremy Madeiros the seaweed, which is commonly called Gulfweed, helps build the shoreline, provide food for shore birds, acts as a fertilizer and provides shelter for sea creatures such as Mahi Mahi (dolphin fish), juvenile reef fish and juvenile turtles. A spokesman added that: "The Department of Parks makes every effort to strike a sustainable balance between enabling the natural processes to occur while making the beaches accessible for beach users.

"With the use of one beach tractor, we attempt to speed up the dune building process by raking the seaweed to the back of the beach and bury the seaweed to help build dunes.

"Of course we are no match for nature and sometimes no sooner have we cleaned the beach, we find the oceans have deposited even more seaweed!

"We ask the public for their understanding and co-operation as we carry out our work and hope that they appreciate that without the seaweed we would not have the beautiful beaches and dune plants that make our Parks so popular with locals and visitors alike."

Anyone who is interested in using the seaweed raked in from the beach for their home composters or banana patches should contact the Department of Parks at 236 5902.