Massive, recording-breaking blooms of the algae Enteromorpha prolifera have been washing up on China's beaches in Shandong province, near Qingdao.

The bloom is the size of Connecticut and officials have already removed 19,800 tons of algae from beaches. This is the largest bloom since 2008, which covered 5,000 square miles. That year, the algae cost $30 million to clean up and according to a 2011 report, cost about $100 million in damages to fisheries in the area, since the algae soaks up oxygen in the water, choking off other marine organisms.

The blooms first started in 2007, and researchers aren't sure if they are cause by pollution or by changes to seaweed farming practices to the south of Qingdao.