Mystery pink slime on secluded Tasmanian beach prompts fears of potential algal bloom

Environment Protection Authority says blooms are ‘natural occurrence’ as marine scientist warns it has grown ‘significantly’ in recent hours

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Tasmanian authorities are working to identify a pink slime that has appeared on a secluded beach, with some scientists concerned it could be an algal bloom.

The pink-tinged sludge appeared along a stretch of Randalls Bay about 60km south of Hobart on Friday morning. A similar sludge has also been recorded on sections of Little Roaring Beach in Tasmania’s D’Entrecasteaux Channel and Little Taylors Bay.