Branching algae is starting to pile up on beaches on Sanibel this week.
There is seaweed washed up along Lighthouse Beach that stretches all the way along the beach. You have to walk through it to even get in the water.
The reddish-brown-looking seaweed is called red-branching seaweed. It's from all the rain we've had this week, according to Eric Milbrandt with the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation.
"The abundance has definitely been affected by the discharges from Lake Okeechobee," he said.
Milbrandt said it's also impacted by the stormwater runoff from the watershed.
Visitors of Sanibel say it's not their favorite thing to see while enjoying the beach.
Ashley Rose, visiting Sanibel from out of town, said, "We're on vacation from Iowa, and I just wasn't expecting the amount of seaweed here."
While it isn't always the prettiest, Milbrandt said Sanibel does not rake its beaches, like most do, because it wants to maintain a natural system that promotes wildlife.
"Whether it's sea turtles or shorebirds, any use of the beach by those creatures is disrupted if you are raking with a tractor every day and pulling all of that material," he said.
It also isn't harmful to people right now. The only way it could become harmful is if it starts to rot. Milbrandt said you would know because you get a sulfidic smell from the decomposition process.
The good part about the seaweed is that it comes and goes.
"You can end up with piles of algae one day, and the next day, they're gone," Milbrandt said. "If they get buried in the sand, they'll just decompose."