Moreton Bay, Australia – Using a stick to avoid touching his nemesis, Greg Savige displays some of

Moreton Bay, Australia – Using a stick to avoid touching his nemesis, Greg Savige displays some of the dreaded fireweed, or more precisely, a cyanobacterium called lyngbya majuscula. Savige, 50, a resident of Bribie Island, has spent 35 years fishing in and around Moreton Bay, on the East Coast of Australia. In recent years, lyngyba has smothered sea grass beds, driven away fish and caused fishermen heaps of troubles: painful skin rashes, red swollen lips and eyes. When they shake out their dried nets covered with lyngbya's residue, the powdery substance causes asthma–like symptoms. The fireweed has always been around in very small clumps here. Scientists believe that human–introduce changes, such as overfishing and adding nutrients, possibly by uprooting the native eucalyptus forests, agriculture, urban runoff and even sewage has fueled lyngbya's growth. (Photo by Rick Loomis/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)