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Duncan Evans @Duncanevans01 November 6, 2025 - 4:02PMNewsWire Share via Email Share on Facebook Share on Whatsapp Listen to this article South Australia Algal Bloom crisis Video Player is loading. This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. TextColorOpacity Text BackgroundColorOpacity Caption Area BackgroundColorOpacity Text Edge Style Font Family Reset restore all settings to the default values Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Copied URL to clipboard Close Modal Dialog This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. South Australia Algal Bloom crisis SA Algal Bloom affecting Adelaide metro waters. Dead and dying fish wash up on Glenelg beach, South Australia A rare and poorly understood species of algae is the main culprit behind South Australia’s rolling toxic algal bloom crisis, scientists have discovered. In a pre-print paper published this week, multiple scientists conclude that a novel brevetoxin producer called Karenia cristata is the algae species underpinning the bloom that has killed thousands of marine wildlife and devastated the state’s seafood industries. “Using custom metabarcoding, long-read sequencing and targeted quantitative PCR, we characterised the microalgal assemblage Karenia cristata dominated over the sampling area, in an assemblage with four other Karenia species with varied abundances spatially and temporally,” the paper’s abstract reads. Harmful algal bloom expert Professor Shauna Murray from UTS Sydney was one of the authors of the paper and told NewsWire on Thursday she and her colleagues had started testing samples taken from South Australia in March. “It is a mixed bloom, involving five different Karenina species,” she said. “The one that is producing the brevetoxin is a species called Karenia cristata.” She warned the scientific community was largely in the dark about the species. “We know very little about it,” she said. “It’s literally been reported twice in the world before.” The toxic bloom has devastated marine wildlife. Picture: Great Southern Reef Foundation The species was responsible for a bloom in South Africa in the 1990s, she said, and it was also been identified on a small island in Newfoundland in Canada. “That’s the sum total of what we know,” she said. She said researchers would now try to understand how the species grows and develops. “Then maybe we can understand what caused the bloom,” she said. South Australia’s bloom was first detected in March and over the past eight months it has spread to cover 20,000 sqkm, or about 30 per cent of the state’s coastline. It has thrown state’s lucrative fisheries and coastal tourism industries into disarray, with growing fears of widespread job losses. Button Fisheries owner Bart Butson, speaking at a senate inquiry into the bloom in Ardrossan in mid September, said he hadn’t seen any calamari or squid in the St Vincent Gulf for the previous 2½ months. “That is just incredible for us. It shouldn’t happen,” he said. Copied URL to clipboard Drone footage from Adelaideof Greens senator Sarah Hanson Young at SOS: Hands Across the Sand community rally for the algal bloom in SA. Community... Port Lincoln Mayor Diana Mislov, appearing that same week, said fishermen in the iconic “seafood capital of Australia” were struggling to catch fish in the Spencer Gulf. “We’re feeling it on our bays – the fish just aren’t biting, they are not there,” she said. “I’ve had stories – a fisherman fishes for squid, he hasn’t seen squid since April in our bays. “So those fishermen are having to drive to the west coast, take their boats over there – 600km away – and go fishing from those locations.” Ian Mitchell, the manager of Safcol’s Adelaide Fish Market, told the inquiry the next 12-24 months could deliver dramatic lay-offs across the embattled industry. “The next 12-24 is the most important because if we keep going on a downward trend, then my staff will probably leave because I won’t be able to give them the hours and to find staff in this industry is a hard thing to do,” he said. There are some 50,000 species of algae, and only about 200 of those are considered harmful. Harmful algae produce toxins that can kill and contaminate marine life. The 2025 bloom was first detected in March. Picture: Great Southern Reef Foundation In October, the state and federal government announced a $102.5m “summer plan” to support coastal communities impacted by the event. The plan includes a mix of packages to stimulate travel demand, prop up businesses that have been smashed by the toxic bloom and expand research and restoration efforts. Some $48m will go to travel vouchers, grants for small businesses and fee relief for fisheries and aquaculture licence holders There is also a $15m dining cashback program to help cover meals at eligible establishments located along the coast. The program, available to South Australians, will allocate 60,000 $50 vouchers through a public ballot each month from November. The plan also allocates $20.6m for the restoration of large-scale native oyster reefs, community shellfish reefs, seagrass and blue carbon and to launch a targeted breeding, conservation and fish stocking program for vulnerable and threatened species hit by the bloom. A further $17.3m will go to a range of research initiatives, including a new $3.2m South Australian-based office for algal bloom research. Read related topics:Adelaide Join the conversation (2 Comments) Add your comment to this story To join the conversation, please log in. Don't have an account? Join the conversation, you are commenting as More related stories Major update in 37-year cold case A major search is under way as authorities continue to investigate a mystery that has remained unsolved for 37 years. Top cop gives major update on search for Gus South Australia’s top cop has given a major update on the search for missing four-year-old Gus Lamont, who was last seen more than a month ago. Twist after surfer’s shark attack horror A veteran surfer bitten by a 3m shark off the southerncoast has provided a surprising update while showing off his new battle scars. Registration In The Know Quiz Newsletters Competitions Welcome to news.com.au Code of Conduct Help and Support General Feedback Advertise with us Standards of Practice Licensing & Reprints Our News Network The Daily Telegraph The Courier Mail Our Partners realestate.com.au CODE Sports A NOTE ABOUT RELEVANT ADVERTISING: We collect information about the content (including ads) you use across this site and use it to make both advertising and content more relevant to you on our network and other sites. Find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out.Sometimes our articles will try to help you find the right product at the right price. We may receive payment from third parties for publishing this content or when you make a purchase through the links on our sites. 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