Hong Kong ( CNN ) The stunning photo shows a shimmering blue shoreline with the bright lights of Hong Kong in the distance . The fluorescent blue glow is natural lighting powered by an algae bloom of Noctiluca scintillans , commonly known as `` Sea Sparkle . '' The non-toxic phytoplankton is not considered harmful and is relatively common in Hong Kong . What is uncommon is capturing its iridescent glow on camera , which only appears when the water is disturbed . Local photographer Lit Wai Kwong also took an image of the phenomena at Tai Po in Hong Kong 's New Territories . `` You can see the blue light if there is a wave , a boat moving , or a stone thrown in the water , '' said Kwong , who used a 30-second exposure to get the shot . `` There was no blue light when the water was calm , therefore many people threw stones into the water in order to see it . '' Despite its blue hue , the phenomena is referred to as a red tide and , according to a Hong Kong government website that keeps track of sightings , several have been reported so far this year . Michelle Cheung from the city 's Eco-education & Resources Center said the bloom was caused by high pollution in Tolo Harbour , which was exacerbated by the slow flow of currents . She said nutrient levels are typically high in the region , due to restaurant waste and sewage running direct from village houses into the sea . Cheung added that the algae can be deadly because it deprives the water of oxygen , though the government has not recorded any evidence of fish kills . `` Hong Kong and the entire Pearl River Delta has a big problem with wastewater , and that is surely a factor with these plankton blooms , '' said David Baker from the Swire Institute of Marine Science at the University of Hong Kong . He said , by itself , Noctiluca scintillans does n't represent a threat to human or environmental health , but the huge bloom does represent an ecosystem that 's `` out of balance . '' `` I guess the analogy is they 're like locusts that feed on agricultural crops . And once they find a good abundant food source they will multiply until the food source is exhausted . In Hong Kong unfortunately most of the nutrients are coming from our own sewage . '' The damage done to the environment does n't just happen when oxygen is depleted during the algae 's short lifetime . When the blooms die , they sink to the bottom of the sea when they decompose , consuming huge amounts of oxygen . `` That 's when we have the formation of these dead zones , where anything that 's living , any fish or crab species living on the bottom , is at risk of dying from the low oxygen associated with that decomposition , '' Baker said . Hong Kong has a number of zones that suffer from persistently low levels of oxygen , which `` increase in their severity and their scope whenever we have these algal blooms , '' he added .
Image shows striking blue algae bloom near Hong Kong shoreline . Commonly known as `` Sea Sparkle , '' the algae is not in itself considered harmful . However , algae bloom is a sign of a troubled ecosystem , marine experts say .