A ban on bathing at Castlerock beach and Portstewart Strand will remain in place until at least 11 July.
BBC NI agriculture and environment correspondent
The Northern Ireland Environment Agency said more testing would take place over the weekend to determine the extent of algal blooms in the area.The beaches are red-flagged by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, meaning it is unsafe to swim.Image caption,Blue-green algal blooms have been detected at a number of sites across Northern Ireland during the recent good weather.
Suspected algae was reported to the NIEA at Castlerock Beach on 5 July by Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs samplers undertaking bathing water testing.Blue-green algae in Lough Neagh has been moving downstream with the natural flow of water for the last month.Daera said the natural movement of the tides and wave action will break up the algae.Castlerock beach is all but deserted this afternoon, with bathers going elsewhere to swim.
One woman's dogs danced along the edge of the water, before other beach visitors reminded her of the risks.There have been no reported cases along these north coast beaches of people or dogs becoming ill after swimming here but elsewhere in Northern Ireland dogs are known to be affected after being in water where blooms of blue-green algae have been detected.
At the start of the holiday season, many traders here are bound to be anxious about the impact on business, with the ban set to last at least another four days.
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