If urgent measures are not taken, this will be a recurrent event for years to come. Green tides are not the cause, but the unintentional consequence of coastal eutrophication. With the presence of sufficient nutrients and solar energy, these opportunistic species, with a well-adapted anatomy, morphology and physiology, will proliferate. Obviously, it would be beneficial to reduce nutrient loading at the source, but this may not be possible in the present context of economic development along the coastal zone of China.