Latest news with #BiodiversityCouncil
ABC News
3 hours ago
- Science
- ABC News
Race to understand Giant Australian cuttlefish behaviour as algal bloom looms
Thousands of people visit Whyalla every year in winter to see congregating giant Australian cuttlefish near the shore for their breeding season. But that may be under threat as scientists weigh-up whether to relocate cuttlefish hatchlings before South Australia's toxic algal bloom reaches their fertile grounds. The Biodiversity Council of Australia held an emergency meeting on Wednesday with state government officials discussing how to safeguard giant Australian cuttlefish eggs in the Upper Spencer Gulf. UniSA marine ecologist Zoe Doubleday attended the meeting and said the council had resolved to fill data gaps before taking a course of action. "You'd be taking eggs from a currently healthy population so you don't want to do that unless you really have to," Dr Doubleday said. "And removing eggs, they might just be gobbled up by predators after a while, so there's a few things we're balancing. We're doing some assessment to see what's viable." Dr Doubleday acknowledged the process was time sensitive but it was unclear how much of the algae would reach breeding areas, nor how much harm could be done. "The eggs are in a good place to collect now if we were to do that, or in the next few weeks," she said. Biodiversity Council spokesperson Jaana Dielenberg said the cuttlefish were "a point of pride for the people of Whyalla" and an international tourism drawcard. "Our greatest hope is that the harmful algal bloom, which is devastating marine wildlife, will dissipate soon," she said. "But until it does conservation managers need to rapidly prepare for the worst. "This cuttlefish population and its extraordinary behaviour are one of the world's natural wonders, like the great monarch butterfly migrations. "We should do everything we can to ensure it survives." Flinders University cuttlefish researcher Bethany Jackel, who was not at the meeting, said giant Australian cuttlefish numbers were strong this season. "The cuttlefish this season do seem to have dodged a bullet. They seem to have done what they need to do," Ms Jackel said. "What we don't really know is what impact that algae may have on the eggs that will now be developing all the way through until November, December, and what effects that algae might have on the food source of the hatchlings." Whyalla Dive Shop owner Manny Katz, who is also director of Eyre Lab, a not-for-profit which promotes awareness of restoration ecology, approved of moving the eggs. "Then we can hold on to those genetics for redeployment in the future," he said. Due to their relatively short life span of 12 to 18 months, Mr Katz said it could take several generations of captive cuttlefish before conditions were optimal for their release back into the wild. "If you were to release hatchlings back into the wild with no food source you'd just be setting them up for failure," he said. Cutty's Boat Tours owner Matt Waller, one of several tourism operators who rely on the cuttlefish aggregation, said there were still unknowns. "The question we can never really answer is [why are] the cuttlefish returning to this site every year? Is that a high level of genetic evolutionary disposition? Or it's something they just re-find?" he said. Mr Katz said more research was being conducted into the species' migration patterns. But it was unclear was whether a prolonged period of captivity would impact their "internal compass" and ability to travel to the breeding grounds outside of Point Lowley.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Toxic algae are turning South Australia's coral reefs into underwater graveyards – and there's no end in sight
What struck Scott Bennett most were the razor clams. The long saltwater clams, resembling old-fashioned razors, normally burrow into sand to avoid predators. But when Bennett, an ecologist, visited South Australia's Great Southern Reef last month, he saw thousands of them rotting on the sea floor. '100% of them were dead and wasting away on the bottom,' Bennett told CNN. Since March, a harmful algal bloom, fueled by a marine heat wave, has been choking South Australia's coastline, turning once-colorful ecosystems filled with thriving marine life into underwater graveyards. The bloom has killed about 15,000 animals from over 450 species, according to observations on the citizen science site iNaturalist. They include longfinned worm eels, surf crabs, warty prowfish, leafy seadragons, hairy mussels and common bottlenose dolphins. The algae have poisoned more than 4,500 square kilometers (1,737 square miles) of the state's waters – an area larger than Rhode Island – littering beaches with carcasses and ravaging an area known for its diversity. It's 'one of the worst marine disasters in living memory,' according to a report by the Biodiversity Council, an independent expert group founded by 11 Australian universities. The toxic algal bloom has devastated South Australia's fishing industry and repelled beachgoers, serving as a stark warning of what happens when climate change goes unchecked. Once a bloom begins, there is no way of stopping it. 'This shouldn't be treated as an isolated event,' Bennett said. 'This is symptomatic of climate driven impacts that we're seeing across Australia due to climate change.' A mysterious yellow foam It all started back in March, when dozens of surfers at beaches outside Gulf St Vincent, about an hour south of state capital Adelaide, reported experiencing a sore throat, dry cough and blurred vision after emerging from the sea. Shortly after, a mysterious yellow foam appeared in the surf. Then, dead marine animals started washing up. Scientists at the University of Technology Sydney soon confirmed the culprit: a buildup of a tiny planktonic algae called Karenia mikimotoi. And it was spreading. In early May, the government of Kangaroo Island, a popular eco-tourism destination, said the algal bloom had reached its coastline. A storm at the end of May pushed the algae down the coast into the Coorong lagoon. By July, it had reached the beaches of Adelaide. Diverse algae are essential to healthy marine ecosystems, converting carbon dioxide into oxygen and benefiting organisms all the way up the food chain, from sea sponges and crabs to whales. But too much of one specific type of algae can be toxic, causing a harmful algal bloom, also sometimes known as a red tide. While Karenia mikimotoi does not cause long-term harm to humans, it can damage the gills of fish and shellfish, preventing them from breathing. Algal blooms can also cause discoloration in the water and block sunlight from coming in, harming ecosystems. The Great Southern Reef is a haven for 'really unique' biodiversity, said Bennett, a researcher at the University of Tasmania, who coined the name for the interconnected reef system which spans Australia's south coast. About 70% of the species that live there are endemic to the area, he said, meaning they are found nowhere else in the world. 'For these species, once they're gone, they're gone.' 'There is zero life' Nathan Eatts hasn't caught a single squid since April. On a good day, Eatts could catch 100 in the waters where he's fished commercially for 15 years off South Australia's Fleurieu Peninsula. Since the harmful algal bloom began, his business, Cape Calamari, has gone 'pretty much down to zero,' Eatts said. While more mobile fish can move to cleaner waters during an algal bloom, invertebrates like shellfish and sea stars, and other species associated with the reef, are suffocated by toxic algae. 'We don't know whether they've all died, or they're just seeking refuge in deeper water, waiting for it all to clear,' he said. Many fishers have lost their livelihoods overnight, with about a third of the state waters completely devoid of fish, according to Pat Tripodi, the executive officer of the Marine Fishers Association, which represents the interests of most commercial fishing license holders in the state. 'Wherever the algal bloom hits, there is zero life,' Tripodi said. 'It's a really high emotional and mental strain on these individuals, because many of them don't know how or if they will ever recover from it.' Beyond the fishers themselves, the bloom is having a knock-on effect on the state's seafood industry, which is valued at almost 480 million Australian dollars ($315 million). Seafood processors, transport companies, grocers and restaurants are all feeling the pain, Tripodi said. Eatts comes from a long line of fishers, and they've never seen anything like this. The last time a harmful agal bloom swept South Australia was in 2014, but it was much more localized. Toxic algal blooms are naturally occurring and are common around the world, including in the US. But climate change is making them more frequent and more severe. The foundation for the South Australian bloom was laid back in 2022, experts believe, when catastrophic flooding swept the Murray, Australia's longest river, washing extra nutrients into the Southern Ocean. The next summer, currents brought nutrient-rich water to the surface in a process called cold water upwelling. Then, a marine heatwave in September 2024 caused ocean temperatures to be about 2.5 degrees Celsius warmer than usual. That, combined with calm water conditions and light wind created conditions for the algae to grow and spread. A fire that can't be put out There is no way for humans to stop a harmful algal bloom – its trajectory largely depends on natural factors like wind and weather patterns. Peter Malinauskas, South Australia's premier, told public broadcaster the ABC on Tuesday that the crisis is a 'natural disaster, but it's different to ones that we're familiar with in Australia.' 'With a bushfire, you can put the fire out. If there's a flood, you can do the modeling to have a sense of where the water is going to go, whereas this is so entirely unprecedented. We don't really know how it's going to play out over coming weeks and months ahead.' This week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government announced a support package of 14 million Australian dollars ($9.2 million), which has been matched by the state, to help with the cleanup and economic fallout from the ecological crisis. But Canberra stopped short of calling it a natural disaster, a declaration which would have unlocked additional funding. As extreme heat events become more common around the world, Bennett said the government needs to do more to prevent and protect against future algal blooms – first and foremost by cutting carbon emissions. Marine ecosystems can be 'resilient,' Bennett said. But he added that Australia must protect habitats, such as kelp forests, seagrass meadows, and oyster reefs, which absorb excess nutrients and keep the oceans healthy. Eatts, the calamari fisher, said it 'hits home hard' to see South Australia's natural beauty spoiled by this crisis. The other day, he saw a dead dolphin on his local beach. 'You take it for granted where you live and what you see on a daily basis,' he said. 'But it takes one event of nature like this to come through, and it breaks your heart watching it unfold.'
CNN
4 days ago
- Science
- CNN
Toxic algae are turning South Australia's coral reefs into underwater graveyards – and there's no end in sight
What struck Scott Bennett most were the razor clams. The long saltwater clams, resembling old-fashioned razors, normally burrow into sand to avoid predators. But when Bennett, an ecologist, visited South Australia's Great Southern Reef last month, he saw thousands of them rotting on the sea floor. '100% of them were dead and wasting away on the bottom,' Bennett told CNN. Since March, a harmful algal bloom, fueled by a marine heat wave, has been choking South Australia's coastline, turning once-colorful ecosystems filled with thriving marine life into underwater graveyards. The bloom has killed about 15,000 animals from over 450 species, according to observations on the citizen science site iNaturalist. They include longfinned worm eels, surf crabs, warty prowfish, leafy seadragons, hairy mussels and common bottlenose dolphins. The algae have poisoned more than 4,500 square kilometers (1,737 square miles) of the state's waters – an area larger than Rhode Island – littering beaches with carcasses and ravaging an area known for its diversity. It's 'one of the worst marine disasters in living memory,' according to a report by the Biodiversity Council, an independent expert group founded by 11 Australian universities. The toxic algal bloom has devastated South Australia's fishing industry and repelled beachgoers, serving as a stark warning of what happens when climate change goes unchecked. Once a bloom begins, there is no way of stopping it. 'This shouldn't be treated as an isolated event,' Bennett said. 'This is symptomatic of climate driven impacts that we're seeing across Australia due to climate change.' It all started back in March, when dozens of surfers at beaches outside Gulf St Vincent, about an hour south of state capital Adelaide, reported experiencing a sore throat, dry cough and blurred vision after emerging from the sea. Shortly after, a mysterious yellow foam appeared in the surf. Then, dead marine animals started washing up. Scientists at the University of Technology Sydney soon confirmed the culprit: a buildup of a tiny planktonic algae called Karenia mikimotoi. And it was spreading. In early May, the government of Kangaroo Island, a popular eco-tourism destination, said the algal bloom had reached its coastline. A storm at the end of May pushed the algae down the coast into the Coorong lagoon. By July, it had reached the beaches of Adelaide. Diverse algae are essential to healthy marine ecosystems, converting carbon dioxide into oxygen and benefiting organisms all the way up the food chain, from sea sponges and crabs to whales. But too much of one specific type of algae can be toxic, causing a harmful algal bloom, also sometimes known as a red tide. While Karenia mikimotoi does not cause long-term harm to humans, it can damage the gills of fish and shellfish, preventing them from breathing. Algal blooms can also cause discoloration in the water and block sunlight from coming in, harming ecosystems. The Great Southern Reef is a haven for 'really unique' biodiversity, said Bennett, a researcher at the University of Tasmania, who coined the name for the interconnected reef system which spans Australia's south coast. About 70% of the species that live there are endemic to the area, he said, meaning they are found nowhere else in the world. 'For these species, once they're gone, they're gone.' Nathan Eatts hasn't caught a single squid since April. On a good day, Eatts could catch 100 in the waters where he's fished commercially for 15 years off South Australia's Fleurieu Peninsula. Since the harmful algal bloom began, his business, Cape Calamari, has gone 'pretty much down to zero,' Eatts said. While more mobile fish can move to cleaner waters during an algal bloom, invertebrates like shellfish and sea stars, and other species associated with the reef, are suffocated by toxic algae. 'We don't know whether they've all died, or they're just seeking refuge in deeper water, waiting for it all to clear,' he said. Many fishers have lost their livelihoods overnight, with about a third of the state waters completely devoid of fish, according to Pat Tripodi, the executive officer of the Marine Fishers Association, which represents the interests of most commercial fishing license holders in the state. 'Wherever the algal bloom hits, there is zero life,' Tripodi said. 'It's a really high emotional and mental strain on these individuals, because many of them don't know how or if they will ever recover from it.' Beyond the fishers themselves, the bloom is having a knock-on effect on the state's seafood industry, which is valued at almost 480 million Australian dollars ($315 million). Seafood processors, transport companies, grocers and restaurants are all feeling the pain, Tripodi said. Eatts comes from a long line of fishers, and they've never seen anything like this. The last time a harmful agal bloom swept South Australia was in 2014, but it was much more localized. Toxic algal blooms are naturally occurring and are common around the world, including in the US. But climate change is making them more frequent and more severe. The foundation for the South Australian bloom was laid back in 2022, experts believe, when catastrophic flooding swept the Murray, Australia's longest river, washing extra nutrients into the Southern Ocean. The next summer, currents brought nutrient-rich water to the surface in a process called cold water upwelling. Then, a marine heatwave in September 2024 caused ocean temperatures to be about 2.5 degrees Celsius warmer than usual. That, combined with calm water conditions and light wind created conditions for the algae to grow and spread. There is no way for humans to stop a harmful algal bloom – its trajectory largely depends on natural factors like wind and weather patterns. Peter Malinauskas, South Australia's premier, told public broadcaster the ABC on Tuesday that the crisis is a 'natural disaster, but it's different to ones that we're familiar with in Australia.' 'With a bushfire, you can put the fire out. If there's a flood, you can do the modeling to have a sense of where the water is going to go, whereas this is so entirely unprecedented. We don't really know how it's going to play out over coming weeks and months ahead.' This week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government announced a support package of 14 million Australian dollars ($9.2 million), which has been matched by the state, to help with the cleanup and economic fallout from the ecological crisis. But Canberra stopped short of calling it a natural disaster, a declaration which would have unlocked additional funding. As extreme heat events become more common around the world, Bennett said the government needs to do more to prevent and protect against future algal blooms – first and foremost by cutting carbon emissions. Marine ecosystems can be 'resilient,' Bennett said. But he added that Australia must protect habitats, such as kelp forests, seagrass meadows, and oyster reefs, which absorb excess nutrients and keep the oceans healthy. Eatts, the calamari fisher, said it 'hits home hard' to see South Australia's natural beauty spoiled by this crisis. The other day, he saw a dead dolphin on his local beach. 'You take it for granted where you live and what you see on a daily basis,' he said. 'But it takes one event of nature like this to come through, and it breaks your heart watching it unfold.'
CNN
4 days ago
- Climate
- CNN
Toxic algae are turning South Australia's coral reefs into underwater graveyards – and there's no end in sight
OceaniaFacebookTweetLink Follow What struck Scott Bennett most were the razor clams. The long saltwater clams, resembling old-fashioned razors, normally burrow into sand to avoid predators. But when Bennett, an ecologist, visited South Australia's Great Southern Reef last month, he saw thousands of them rotting on the sea floor. '100% of them were dead and wasting away on the bottom,' Bennett told CNN. Since March, a harmful algal bloom, fueled by a marine heat wave, has been choking South Australia's coastline, turning once-colorful ecosystems filled with thriving marine life into underwater graveyards. The bloom has killed about 15,000 animals from over 450 species, according to observations on the citizen science site iNaturalist. They include longfinned worm eels, surf crabs, warty prowfish, leafy seadragons, hairy mussels and common bottlenose dolphins. The algae have poisoned more than 4,500 square kilometers (1,737 square miles) of the state's waters – an area larger than Rhode Island – littering beaches with carcasses and ravaging an area known for its diversity. It's 'one of the worst marine disasters in living memory,' according to a report by the Biodiversity Council, an independent expert group founded by 11 Australian universities. The toxic algal bloom has devastated South Australia's fishing industry and repelled beachgoers, serving as a stark warning of what happens when climate change goes unchecked. Once a bloom begins, there is no way of stopping it. 'This shouldn't be treated as an isolated event,' Bennett said. 'This is symptomatic of climate driven impacts that we're seeing across Australia due to climate change.' It all started back in March, when dozens of surfers at beaches outside Gulf St Vincent, about an hour south of state capital Adelaide, reported experiencing a sore throat, dry cough and blurred vision after emerging from the sea. Shortly after, a mysterious yellow foam appeared in the surf. Then, dead marine animals started washing up. Scientists at the University of Technology Sydney soon confirmed the culprit: a buildup of a tiny planktonic algae called Karenia mikimotoi. And it was spreading. In early May, the government of Kangaroo Island, a popular eco-tourism destination, said the algal bloom had reached its coastline. A storm at the end of May pushed the algae down the coast into the Coorong lagoon. By July, it had reached the beaches of Adelaide. Diverse algae are essential to healthy marine ecosystems, converting carbon dioxide into oxygen and benefiting organisms all the way up the food chain, from sea sponges and crabs to whales. But too much of one specific type of algae can be toxic, causing a harmful algal bloom, also sometimes known as a red tide. While Karenia mikimotoi does not cause long-term harm to humans, it can damage the gills of fish and shellfish, preventing them from breathing. Algal blooms can also cause discoloration in the water and block sunlight from coming in, harming ecosystems. The Great Southern Reef is a haven for 'really unique' biodiversity, said Bennett, a researcher at the University of Tasmania, who coined the name for the interconnected reef system which spans Australia's south coast. About 70% of the species that live there are endemic to the area, he said, meaning they are found nowhere else in the world. 'For these species, once they're gone, they're gone.' Nathan Eatts hasn't caught a single squid since April. On a good day, Eatts could catch 100 in the waters where he's fished commercially for 15 years off South Australia's Fleurieu Peninsula. Since the harmful algal bloom began, his business, Cape Calamari, has gone 'pretty much down to zero,' Eatts said. While more mobile fish can move to cleaner waters during an algal bloom, invertebrates like shellfish and sea stars, and other species associated with the reef, are suffocated by toxic algae. 'We don't know whether they've all died, or they're just seeking refuge in deeper water, waiting for it all to clear,' he said. Many fishers have lost their livelihoods overnight, with about a third of the state waters completely devoid of fish, according to Pat Tripodi, the executive officer of the Marine Fishers Association, which represents the interests of most commercial fishing license holders in the state. 'Wherever the algal bloom hits, there is zero life,' Tripodi said. 'It's a really high emotional and mental strain on these individuals, because many of them don't know how or if they will ever recover from it.' Beyond the fishers themselves, the bloom is having a knock-on effect on the state's seafood industry, which is valued at almost 480 million Australian dollars ($315 million). Seafood processors, transport companies, grocers and restaurants are all feeling the pain, Tripodi said. Eatts comes from a long line of fishers, and they've never seen anything like this. The last time a harmful agal bloom swept South Australia was in 2014, but it was much more localized. Toxic algal blooms are naturally occurring and are common around the world, including in the US. But climate change is making them more frequent and more severe. The foundation for the South Australian bloom was laid back in 2022, experts believe, when catastrophic flooding swept the Murray, Australia's longest river, washing extra nutrients into the Southern Ocean. The next summer, currents brought nutrient-rich water to the surface in a process called cold water upwelling. Then, a marine heatwave in September 2024 caused ocean temperatures to be about 2.5 degrees Celsius warmer than usual. That, combined with calm water conditions and light wind created conditions for the algae to grow and spread. There is no way for humans to stop a harmful algal bloom – its trajectory largely depends on natural factors like wind and weather patterns. Peter Malinauskas, South Australia's premier, told public broadcaster the ABC on Tuesday that the crisis is a 'natural disaster, but it's different to ones that we're familiar with in Australia.' 'With a bushfire, you can put the fire out. If there's a flood, you can do the modeling to have a sense of where the water is going to go, whereas this is so entirely unprecedented. We don't really know how it's going to play out over coming weeks and months ahead.' This week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government announced a support package of 14 million Australian dollars ($9.2 million), which has been matched by the state, to help with the cleanup and economic fallout from the ecological crisis. But Canberra stopped short of calling it a natural disaster, a declaration which would have unlocked additional funding. As extreme heat events become more common around the world, Bennett said the government needs to do more to prevent and protect against future algal blooms – first and foremost by cutting carbon emissions. Marine ecosystems can be 'resilient,' Bennett said. But he added that Australia must protect habitats, such as kelp forests, seagrass meadows, and oyster reefs, which absorb excess nutrients and keep the oceans healthy. Eatts, the calamari fisher, said it 'hits home hard' to see South Australia's natural beauty spoiled by this crisis. The other day, he saw a dead dolphin on his local beach. 'You take it for granted where you live and what you see on a daily basis,' he said. 'But it takes one event of nature like this to come through, and it breaks your heart watching it unfold.'
CNN
4 days ago
- Science
- CNN
Toxic algae are turning South Australia's coral reefs into underwater graveyards – and there's no end in sight
What struck Scott Bennett most were the razor clams. The long saltwater clams, resembling old-fashioned razors, normally burrow into sand to avoid predators. But when Bennett, an ecologist, visited South Australia's Great Southern Reef last month, he saw thousands of them rotting on the sea floor. '100% of them were dead and wasting away on the bottom,' Bennett told CNN. Since March, a harmful algal bloom, fueled by a marine heat wave, has been choking South Australia's coastline, turning once-colorful ecosystems filled with thriving marine life into underwater graveyards. The bloom has killed about 15,000 animals from over 450 species, according to observations on the citizen science site iNaturalist. They include longfinned worm eels, surf crabs, warty prowfish, leafy seadragons, hairy mussels and common bottlenose dolphins. The algae have poisoned more than 4,500 square kilometers (1,737 square miles) of the state's waters – an area larger than Rhode Island – littering beaches with carcasses and ravaging an area known for its diversity. It's 'one of the worst marine disasters in living memory,' according to a report by the Biodiversity Council, an independent expert group founded by 11 Australian universities. The toxic algal bloom has devastated South Australia's fishing industry and repelled beachgoers, serving as a stark warning of what happens when climate change goes unchecked. Once a bloom begins, there is no way of stopping it. 'This shouldn't be treated as an isolated event,' Bennett said. 'This is symptomatic of climate driven impacts that we're seeing across Australia due to climate change.' It all started back in March, when dozens of surfers at beaches outside Gulf St Vincent, about an hour south of state capital Adelaide, reported experiencing a sore throat, dry cough and blurred vision after emerging from the sea. Shortly after, a mysterious yellow foam appeared in the surf. Then, dead marine animals started washing up. Scientists at the University of Technology Sydney soon confirmed the culprit: a buildup of a tiny planktonic algae called Karenia mikimotoi. And it was spreading. In early May, the government of Kangaroo Island, a popular eco-tourism destination, said the algal bloom had reached its coastline. A storm at the end of May pushed the algae down the coast into the Coorong lagoon. By July, it had reached the beaches of Adelaide. Diverse algae are essential to healthy marine ecosystems, converting carbon dioxide into oxygen and benefiting organisms all the way up the food chain, from sea sponges and crabs to whales. But too much of one specific type of algae can be toxic, causing a harmful algal bloom, also sometimes known as a red tide. While Karenia mikimotoi does not cause long-term harm to humans, it can damage the gills of fish and shellfish, preventing them from breathing. Algal blooms can also cause discoloration in the water and block sunlight from coming in, harming ecosystems. The Great Southern Reef is a haven for 'really unique' biodiversity, said Bennett, a researcher at the University of Tasmania, who coined the name for the interconnected reef system which spans Australia's south coast. About 70% of the species that live there are endemic to the area, he said, meaning they are found nowhere else in the world. 'For these species, once they're gone, they're gone.' Nathan Eatts hasn't caught a single squid since April. On a good day, Eatts could catch 100 in the waters where he's fished commercially for 15 years off South Australia's Fleurieu Peninsula. Since the harmful algal bloom began, his business, Cape Calamari, has gone 'pretty much down to zero,' Eatts said. While more mobile fish can move to cleaner waters during an algal bloom, invertebrates like shellfish and sea stars, and other species associated with the reef, are suffocated by toxic algae. 'We don't know whether they've all died, or they're just seeking refuge in deeper water, waiting for it all to clear,' he said. Many fishers have lost their livelihoods overnight, with about a third of the state waters completely devoid of fish, according to Pat Tripodi, the executive officer of the Marine Fishers Association, which represents the interests of most commercial fishing license holders in the state. 'Wherever the algal bloom hits, there is zero life,' Tripodi said. 'It's a really high emotional and mental strain on these individuals, because many of them don't know how or if they will ever recover from it.' Beyond the fishers themselves, the bloom is having a knock-on effect on the state's seafood industry, which is valued at almost 480 million Australian dollars ($315 million). Seafood processors, transport companies, grocers and restaurants are all feeling the pain, Tripodi said. Eatts comes from a long line of fishers, and they've never seen anything like this. The last time a harmful agal bloom swept South Australia was in 2014, but it was much more localized. Toxic algal blooms are naturally occurring and are common around the world, including in the US. But climate change is making them more frequent and more severe. The foundation for the South Australian bloom was laid back in 2022, experts believe, when catastrophic flooding swept the Murray, Australia's longest river, washing extra nutrients into the Southern Ocean. The next summer, currents brought nutrient-rich water to the surface in a process called cold water upwelling. Then, a marine heatwave in September 2024 caused ocean temperatures to be about 2.5 degrees Celsius warmer than usual. That, combined with calm water conditions and light wind created conditions for the algae to grow and spread. There is no way for humans to stop a harmful algal bloom – its trajectory largely depends on natural factors like wind and weather patterns. Peter Malinauskas, South Australia's premier, told public broadcaster the ABC on Tuesday that the crisis is a 'natural disaster, but it's different to ones that we're familiar with in Australia.' 'With a bushfire, you can put the fire out. If there's a flood, you can do the modeling to have a sense of where the water is going to go, whereas this is so entirely unprecedented. We don't really know how it's going to play out over coming weeks and months ahead.' This week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government announced a support package of 14 million Australian dollars ($9.2 million), which has been matched by the state, to help with the cleanup and economic fallout from the ecological crisis. But Canberra stopped short of calling it a natural disaster, a declaration which would have unlocked additional funding. As extreme heat events become more common around the world, Bennett said the government needs to do more to prevent and protect against future algal blooms – first and foremost by cutting carbon emissions. Marine ecosystems can be 'resilient,' Bennett said. But he added that Australia must protect habitats, such as kelp forests, seagrass meadows, and oyster reefs, which absorb excess nutrients and keep the oceans healthy. Eatts, the calamari fisher, said it 'hits home hard' to see South Australia's natural beauty spoiled by this crisis. The other day, he saw a dead dolphin on his local beach. 'You take it for granted where you live and what you see on a daily basis,' he said. 'But it takes one event of nature like this to come through, and it breaks your heart watching it unfold.'
