Latest news with #marinedisaster
SBS Australia
6 hours ago
- Science
- SBS Australia
'Ecological catastrophe': What to know about South Australia's algal bloom
An algal bloom crisis in South Australia that has killed thousands of marine species has been described as a natural disaster by the state government, with scientists labelling the situation an "ecological catastrophe". The bloom has devastated the marine environment in South Australia, and experts have warned it could have serious ecological ramifications for years to come. Here's what you need to know about the algal bloom, its impacts, and why it has scientists and advocates so concerned. What is an algal bloom and what causes it? An algal bloom refers to a rapid increase in the population of algae. While it is a naturally occurring phenomenon, it can be exacerbated by climate change and extreme weather conditions. Nina Wootton, a marine scientist at The University of Adelaide, said a warm summer, marine heat wave, and delay in seasonal temperature dropping had contributed to the development of this algal bloom. "There's a mixture of ideas about how this first occurred, but we know that it's been lying dormant here for a while, and we've had blowups of these kind of species previously ... but not of course to this extent," Wootton said. "It's sort of this perfect storm of environmental factors that caused this to happen in the first place." Martina Doblin is a professor of oceanography at the University of Technology Sydney with expertise in harmful algae, and the director of the Sydney Institute of Marine Science. She said algae play an important role in ecosystems, and algal blooms are naturally occurring events in the springtime as the temperature warms up. "But a harmful algal bloom is something that really is categorised by the impact it has on people and the environment," she said. "In this particular case, this alga produces harmful substances that are toxic to certain animals." Nina Wootton said the algal bloom is an "ecological catastrophe". Source: Supplied The bloom has now killed tens of thousands of specimens from hundreds of different marine species. Wootton said this will have devastating consequences for ecosystems, describing it as an "ecological catastrophe". "The reason that I'm really concerned is that it has the potential for these long-term consequences for the marine environment; it's not just this one-off event," she said. 'It's potentially as we go down the track that it's going to cause longer issues and we're expecting to see more and more of these sorts of things with climate change." Where is the algal bloom in South Australia? The bloom of the microalgae species Karenia mikimotoi was identified off South Australia's Fleurieu Peninsula in March, and grew to more than 4,400 square kilometres, close to the size of Kangaroo Island. It has been breaking up in recent weeks, spreading north into Spencer Gulf, south into the Coorong wetlands and along Adelaide's beaches in Gulf St Vincent into the Port River. Is algal bloom harmful to humans? While algal bloom is not as toxic to humans as it is to marine life, Wootton said it is harmful. She said some people may exhibit symptoms of an allergic reaction — such as watery eyes, irritated skin, or trouble breathing. Others may experience emotional impacts. "A lot of Australians have a really close connection to the marine environment and seeing it in such a sense of despair, I think that eco grief also is starting to play a bit of a role here," Wootton said. "It's not going to hopefully kill anybody, but it's definitely causing issues psychologically and mentally as well for these communities that are right on the frontline, like fishers and the industries that are really suffering from this at the forefront as well." Doblin said the long-term impacts on human health are not yet clear, and suggested they should be monitored as the crisis continues. She said people living in coastal communities may be inhaling toxins, being affected by foam at the water's edge, and having skin reactions. "We probably have incomplete records about the direct human health impact, but certainly physicians in that area should be aware that if people are coming in with unusual symptoms, this could be a cause," Doblin said. "And they could be proactive in asking for particular blood tests that would tell them perhaps about exposure to this particular toxin that the alga produces." Is the South Australia algal bloom a natural disaster? On Monday, federal Environment Minister Murray Watt announced a $14 million federal funding package for the South Australian government. "There's no doubting whatsoever that this is a very serious environmental event facing South Australia," he told reporters. "We are in uncharted waters here." Environment Minister Murray Watt announced $14 million in federal funding in response to the South Australia algal bloom crisis. Source: AAP / Matt Turner When asked whether the bloom and its impact should be declared a natural disaster, Watt said it was not possible under the existing definition. But on Tuesday, Premier Peter Malinauskas told ABC News Breakfast he had a different view. "From the South Australian government's perspective, I want to be really clear about this. This is a natural disaster," he said. "I think politicians can do themselves a disservice when they get caught up in technicalities. This is a natural disaster and should be acknowledged as such." Wootton said she believes the algal bloom should be declared a natural disaster as this would unlock access to more federal assistance and funding streams. She compared it to extreme weather events in recent years, such as bushfires and floods. "I personally just think that if this was happening in Sydney or in beaches around a more populous area, it would've already been called a national disaster," Wootton said. "It's like a bushfire but underwater." She said she does not think the Great Southern Reef gets enough recognition across the country. "It's home to so many different species that are only found on the Great Southern Reef, and it leaves me feeling really sad at the thought that some of those species are going to be lost. "It's really, really frustrating to be honest, but it's hard when there's not really one easy solution." — With additional reporting by Australian Associated Press
ABC News
3 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Yorke Peninsula tourism sector echoes calls for support as algal bloom continues
South Australian fisher Andrew Pisani has been netting South Australia's prized King George whiting off the coast of the Yorke Peninsula for more than three decades. But in the last 70 days he said he has not caught a single healthy fish in the waters near Stansbury, where he lives at the heel of the Peninsula. "Every boat ramp here is empty, there's no vessels here at all," Mr Pisani said. "Just dead fish." This week he said he was brought to tears by the sight of hundreds of dead fish in previously unaffected waters near Ardrossan at the top of the Gulf. "It's like something you would see in a horror movie," he said. "I turned to my son and said, 'It's all over'." The algal bloom was first detected in South Australian waters in March. In the Yorke Peninsula, it has decimated one of the country's top shallow dive locations at Edithburgh, and wiped out squid, garfish and whiting populations. Six local oyster leases were closed following the detection of toxins linked to the bloom in May. Mr Pisani said he was concerned about what would happen if the algae hangs around until the warmer months. "If we don't have that tourism from October to March, that six or seven months, Yorke Peninsula will lose millions of dollars in the community," he said. The impact of the marine disaster is already being felt in the tourism sector. At the Port Vincent Kiosk, owner Jo Barrett said fish and chip sales are down by half as customers turn their back on local produce. "Previously it was, 'Do you have local? We want to buy local'," Ms Barrett said. "Now they don't want local. "They'd rather buy overseas fish and we're not buying from our local suppliers because people don't want it." Ms Barrett said the kiosk's turnover was 40 per cent down on this time last year. She said she has already had to cut her staff's rosters by at least eight hours a week, and she was worried about what would happen in the months ahead. "We rely on our aquatics, which start back next week and we won't have them, they won't let the kids go out in the sea." Across the road, cafe owner Chris Keys has also noticed the downturn. A dedicated early morning swimmer, lately he has been shovelling dead fish off the beach that his cafe windows look out to. "What I worry about is the on-flow effect of the next few months," he told a public meeting held during the week. Members of the community have called for a natural disaster declaration to trigger Commonwealth support, and a plan of action from the state government to deal with the bloom and drive tourism back to the region. "Everything on the bottom is dead. It's going to take more than one year to recover, it's going to take a lot of years to recover," a local fisherman told the meeting. Another called for more research into the algal bloom, fish stocks and the safety of eating local seafood. A fisheries patrol ship has been conducting underwater observations in the Gulf in the past week for the first time since the algae was detected. The state government has previously announced commercial fishers can apply to have licence and other fees waived if their catches have been impacted by the bloom, and South Australia's primary industries minister, Clare Scriven, has also written to her federal counterpart, seeking support for fishers. On Friday, Federal Minister for Environment and Water, Murray Watt, said the Albanese government recognised the bloom was "very serious for South Australians", adding that he would "certainly consider" any assistance request from the state government — and said the federal government had been "engaged with the South Australian government" for "some time", while also saying that the bloom was occurring in state, not Commonwealth, waters. But people in the Yorke Peninsula community that the ABC spoke to said they need information now, as businesses grapple with tough decisions about their future. "You feel like if it was on the east coast it would have already been declared [a natural disaster]," Mark Tilbrook, the owner of Edithburgh Newsagency and Deli, said. The small town of Edithburgh usually attracts thousands of divers, recreational fishers and surfers, but Mr Tilbrook said at the moment there was "nothing for them to see". "Nothing. Dead ocean." The impacts of the algal bloom have also been felt on the Spencer Gulf. Mussel harvesting was recently suspended at some sites in the Port Lincoln area after the detection of the same toxin that closed oyster leases at Port Vincent and Stansbury. Oyster farmer Steven Thomson said he was confident the bloom would not reach his leases on the west coast of the Eyre Peninsula, but understood the impact it was having on others. Coffin Bay producers experienced a much smaller outbreak of karenia mikimotoi in 2014. Having experienced the "mental and emotional" impact of the harmful algal bloom, Mr Thomson said research into the long-term effect of karenia mikimotoi on aquaculture and native species was crucial.
