Friday, July 18, 2025

Devoid of visitors, waters off Acapulco beach light up with bioluminescence

Bioluminescent plankton was observed in the waves on an Acapulco beach for the first time in over 60 years on Monday night after the Covid-19 pandemic has kept people out of the water for nearly a month.

Photos and videos of waves shot through with streaks of neon blue on Puerto Marqués beach the night before went viral on social media early Tuesday morning. Some excited residents even took the opportunity to splash around in the unusually glowing waters.

Although the phenomenon may seem rare, biologist Enrique Ayala Duval said that the phytoplankton that cause it are actually more prevalent than their fear of human activity may have people believe.

“Marine bacteria are the most abundant of the bioluminescent organisms,” he said, adding that they can live independently or symbiotically on the surfaces, in the cavities or digestive tracts of other marine animals.

Some residents of Acapulco were lucky enough to see a whale surface in the main bay on the very first day of quarantine, and Monday night’s event was another example of the natural world’s propensity to retake the spaces humans have left empty during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Some who tweeted about the phytoplankton lamented the influence that human activity has on the natural world.

“The bad part is that human beings will always be there to ruin everything,” said one Twitter user who posted a video of someone riding a flyboard in the luminescent waves.

The absence of people on the beach in Oaxaca brought out crocodiles earlier this month. The reptiles usually spend their days hidden away in the waters of the lagoon at La Ventanilla, but were spotted roaming the beach.

Sources: SDP Noticias (sp), México Desconocido (sp)

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
A man stands by an open suitcase in an airport revision area

Foreign national caught with over a million pesos of ketamine in Cancún airport

0
Officials confiscated 2 kilograms of ketamine, a controlled substance in Mexico.
two people walkin gby a for rent sign

Can rent control stop gentrification? Mexico City officials plan to find out

9
Political leaders in the nation's capital have reached into their anti-gentrification toolkit and come up with an approach that goes straight to the heart of the problem.
cell phone with Uber

Mexican authorities slam Uber’s price hike: ‘Unilateral and irresponsible’

2
The ride-hailing app insists that the rise is necessary after recent labor reforms gave its drivers full employee rights, including IMSS membership.
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity