Beach sludge on Waiheke

A grey sludge reported on a Waiheke Island beach is likely to be an accumulation of marine life that has been washed ashore, the Auckland Regional Council said yesterday.

ARC pollution response team leader Rowan Carter said the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research had suggested the cause of the Onetangi Beach sludge could be a marine invertebrate called a salp.

"It will be uncomfortable to touch, but ... it's innocuous," he said.