Why this beach in Digos glows in the dark

A resident living near Dawis Beach in Digos City, Davao del Sur was shocked after she witnessed how the waves of the sea glowed in the dark.

Interviewed by Jonathan Andal for "24 Oras," Joyce Loisa Demanawa, who uploaded the video of the glowing water, said this was the first time that the beach looked like moonlight.

"We touched the glowing water and it looked like blue algae that glowed. We did not experience itchiness when we touched the algae," Demanawa said in Filipino.

According to an expert of University of the Philippines Marine Institute, the beach glowed in the dark because of "bioluminescence" which is caused by an organism called phytoplankton.

"They are like microscopic plants in the ocean. They are a lot and they emit lights like some sort of fireflies," Dr. Aletta Yñiguez said, in a mix of Filipino and English.

In addition, the expert said the phytoplanktons do not pose health risks to the skin. Bioluminescence is also natural but it is unusual to see this many phytoplankton gathering in the sea.

"For example if you are sailing at the sea using a boat, you will see this phytoplankton but it is usually not this much," Yñiguez explained in Filipino.

Demanawa, who first witnessed the glowing beach on Tuesday, said the phytoplankton again illuminated at the beach on Wednesday.—Consuelo Marquez/LDF, GMA News