As South Australia’s toxic bloom lingers, politicians ramp up response
The great white shark, the coastal stingaree – an endangered ray found only South Australia – and the pygmy thornback skate are among the species most at risk from South Australia’s devastating algal bloom and need immediate conservation intervention, scientists warn.
Visiting South Australia on Wednesday, federal Environment Minister Murray Watt announced he would fast-track an expert assessment to determine if flora and fauna affected by the bloom needed to be added to the threatened species list.
Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt during a visit in July to the area struck by the algal bloom.Credit: AAP
“We can leave no stone unturned to understand the impact of this on local marine life, so we can begin investing in the appropriate strategies to bring these important animals back to healthy numbers,” Watt said.
“That’s why I’ve tasked the Threatened Species Scientific Committee with urgently investigating the impact of the bloom on local marine life.”
Dolphins are among the victims of the toxic bloom.Credit: Narelle Autio @chillioctopus
Also visiting was Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, who told ABC radio that she accepted the scientific advice that a marine heatwave caused by global warming had contributed to the bloom, but did not commit to a policy endorsing net zero in 2050, an issue which has divided the Coalition.
“We will bring forward an energy policy that does two things,” she said. “It plays our part in reducing emissions in a transparent and honest way, and it delivers a reliable, affordable energy grid that actually means that households and businesses in this country can continue to operate.”
A dead flathead washed up on Seacliff Beach in South Australia.Credit: Ben Searcy
Ley said the government should have provided more funding to scientists studying the bloom and its causes.
The federal government has so far provided $28 million to the SA government to address the bloom, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said he would again visit the region next week.
Swaths of South Australia’s waters have been turned into “dead zones”, starved of oxygen by blooms of the microalgae Karenia mikimotoi, caused by a combination of an intense marine heatwave and agricultural runoff.
“It acts like a toxic blanket that suffocates marine life,” OzFish South Australia project manager Brad Martin, told this masthead in June.
“It can suffocate fish from their gills, cause haemorrhaging by attacking their red blood cells, and act as a neurotoxin and attack the fish’s nervous system and brain, causing unusual behaviour.”
The bloom has killed sharks, dolphins, rays, leafy sea dragons, cuttlefish, octopuses and little penguins, and local fishers have had their businesses destroyed.
“The algal bloom disaster is hammering species that are already on the brink. Fast-tracking assessments is the right call and shows the government is listening to the science – but the real test will be how quickly we can get any listings in place to deliver much needed protections through recovery actions,” said Alexia Wellbelove, a threatened species campaigner with the Australian Marine Conservation Society.
Humane World for Animals and AMCS wrote to Watt in July urging immediate conservation intervention for the three most endangered species.
The Biodiversity Council welcomed Watt’s decision to fast-track the expert assessment, but warned that because so little is known about size and distribution of many marine species, it would be difficult to assess the impact of the bloom against reliable baselines.
“Listing species that are at risk of extinction can be an important first step in their recovery, if listing generates good planning and investment in management,” said Biodiversity Council member Professor Nicki Mitchell from the University of Western Australia’s Oceans Institute.
“However, assessing marine species against listing criteria is often difficult due to a lack of suitable data on population trends.
“For example, many terrestrial species are listed as threatened because of documented reductions in how many there are over a certain number of generations, or because we know they occur across relatively small areas, or in small habitat patches. We do not have similar certainty in these types of information for most marine species.”
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