”Sea Lettuce” covers Monterey peninsula beaches

Several beaches along the Monterey Peninsula are turning green, leaving beach goers surprised and curious.

“It’s actually not related to land plants. It’s called sea lettuce because it’s green and leafy. It blooms every year, just like the weeds in your garden. And usually it’s caused by a lot of light and a lot of nutrients,” said scientist Mike Graham of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories.

In recent years, massive “sea lettuce” blooms have covered beaches in Seaside, Sand City and Marina, bringing a taste of the ocean to shore.

“It’s an acquired taste. It’s not slimy at all. It tastes like the ocean,” said Graham. “People throw it straight into salads; other people will roast it and make chips out of it. I’ve even heard someone threw it on a barbecue grill to get a smoky flavor.”

Here at the Monterey State beach, the sea lettuce runs for miles and miles. While some people love it, others say they prefer the beach as they know it.

“We were trying to escape the valley heat and come out to the coast, and we ran into a swamp instead,” said Modesto resident Frank Huggins.

Patterson resident Teresa Valentine disagrees, “from the aspect of looking at the water, I think it’s beautiful. When I first walked out there, I thought it was going to be slimy and gross, but it feels like wet grass.”

But there is one thing they can agree on.

“I thought if we had a big bottle of ranch, we’d make a salad,” said Huggins.

“It looks like kale to us or some part of a salad,” said Valentine.

If you’d rather not mix it with your greens, playing with it seems fun.