Recently spotted in Northshore, a strange green substance was seen in the water. At first glance it almost looked like a group of green fishes, however, upon closer inspection – it clearly was something different and looked like an artificial substance. However, if you thought this was some kind of chemical waste or dye then you’d actually be wrong.

It turns out that this is blue green algae which is a natural occurrence. At the same time, this isn’t particularly a good thing for the ecosystem. Often, this is caused by low salinity and is bad because it can remove the water of oxygen, which results in killing the fish and marine life in the area. In other words, you shouldn’t worry about the water being toxic, but it’s still an unhealthy sight to see.

Understandably, New Orleanians were quick to joke about the substance, with many referring to the popular 80s cartoon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This is because the turtles gained their powers after coming into contact with a similar green ooze which mutated them. Hopefully, this doesn’t happen here with any fish – as the thought of huge fish sounds quite terrifying. Others speculated that it could be ectoplasm or aliens!

In all seriousness, this is a fairly unusual occurrence but historically it has happened in this area before and seems to be more present during the summer months. While it’s probably not the healthiest move to go swimming while the cyanobacteria is present (as humans can become sick), if you swim in the less green areas then you’ll probably be ok. Honestly though, it’s probably best to avoid it altogether and go elsewhere.