Greens demand Prime Minister act as South Australian algae bloom nears ‘disaster’, fisheries shut down

Anthony Albanese is being pressed to declare a toxic algae bloom, which has crippled South Australia’s coastline and plunged seafood industries into peril, a “national disaster”. The naturally-occurring but harmful algal bloom has plagued the state’s beaches for months, killing marine life and plunging the seafood industry into crisis. Reports have emerged of dead fish, rays and sharks washing up along the metropolitan coastline – including North Haven between the river mouth and marina breakwater, Tennyson Beach, north of Grange jetty, and south of Christies Beach Surf Life Saving Club. Several mussel farming sites around the Port Lincoln area have also been shut after shellfish toxins were detected in the area. Greens senator Sarah Hanson Young has says the bloom is a “national disaster” and therefore required a “national response”. While algal blooms are not covered under natural or national disaster declarations, which are activated to better co-ordinate assistance between state and Commonwealth governments, work is ongoing to discern whether the event qualifies under other federal arrangements. She called on the Prime Minister and federal Environment Minister Murray Watt to visit Adelaide and “take some action”. “If this was happening in Bondi, or on the North Shore in Sydney, the Prime Minister would have already been on the beach, talking to concerned locals and the affected industries,” Senator Hanson-Young said on Wednesday. “But today, we’ve had virtually nothing from the federal government.” Following a meeting between Senator Watt and the state government, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water’s Head of International Environment, Reef and Oceans has been sent to the state. Senator Watt said the government was “deeply concerned by the widespread marine species mortalities caused by this extreme event,” and said he had been kept up to date by the Malinauskas government. “While the science has made clear that there is no quick fix for the bloom, by having senior federal representatives on the ground we are supporting the SA government’s efforts with manpower, and ramping up our ongoing monitoring efforts,” he said. “We will give careful consideration to any request for assistance we receive from the state government.” South Australia’s flagship fisheries patrol vessel Southern Ranger has been deployed to inspect the bloom and help authorities understand its impact. Senator Hanson-Young, the Greens’ environment and water spokeswoman, said this should have been happening “weeks and weeks ago” – pointing out SA’s fishing and tourism industries were being “smashed”. “Our environment is dying, and our community is alarmed,” she said. “This is the climate crisis unfolding before our very eyes, and South Australia can’t handle it on our own.” Senator Hanson-Young said she would be moving for a federal inquiry into the crisis when parliament resumes. In their latest update on Wednesday, the SA Department of Environment and Water said the algae – known as Karenia mikimotoi – had been detected in the Port River. Elevated levels were found by authorities along the metropolitan coastline, while “very high” levels were at the Garden Island and Outer Harbor boat ramps. It was first detected on the Fleurieu Peninsula in March. “State government agencies are taking weekly water samples at 17 sites across West Lakes, the Port River, the Patawalonga River and the end of four jetties at Largs Bay, Grange, Glenelg and Port Noarlunga,” the department said in their update. The South Australian opposition has already called for a royal commission to explore the origin and consequences of the algae and what could have been done to manage the situation, the ABC reports. Authorities believe a marine heatwave in September last year could have contributed to the bloom. Flooding in the Murray River over 2022 and 2023 washing extra nutrients into the sea, or an unprecedented cold-water upwelling over the summer of 2023-24, may also have contributed. The last large event of this type of algae recorded in SA was at Coffin Bay in 2014. Karenia mikimotoi is not known to cause long-term harmful effects in humans but exposure to discoloured or foamy water can cause short-term skin or eye irritation and respiratory symptoms.