The development of tourism and intensification of agriculture has released large amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus into the Mar Menor coastal lagoon in South-east Spain, resulting in a phytoplankton bloom in 2016. This bloom turned the clear and transparent waters turbid and greenish, and killed approximately 85% of benthic macrophytes.
Nutrient bioextraction by flat oysters, Ostrea edulis, has been proposed for remediation of these eutrophication events and water quality recovery.