Algal bloom update gives best results for city beaches ‘in a while’
Today’s algal bloom update tells what’s in store for metropolitan beaches over Christmas and the levels of dead fish washing up on SA shores. Read the latest algal bloom update.
Latest test results released in Wednesday’s state government Algal Bloom Update showed all 21 Adelaide metropolitan beaches had no or low traces of Karenia, the algal species contributing to South Australia’s harmful algal bloom.
Three sites were completely in the clear, with the Port River St Kilda Boat Ramp, Port River Garden Island Boat ramp and the West Lakes Loch-side Footbridge showing zero levels of karenia.
South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) executive director Professor Mike Steer said the results were “the best we’ve seen in a while” with less fish washing up on the northern coastline.
He said the cell counts have been consistently low for a couple of weeks now are a “positive sign” and “chlorophyll levels are going back to the sort of natural levels, which is fantastic to see”.
“The frequency and abundance of the fish that are washing up is also declining; we’ve seen about a 50 per cent reduction of fish washing up on the northern metropolitan coast,” Steer said.
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“If we compare the size of the footprint of the bloom now to where it was say five or six weeks ago, it’s considerably reduced and looking positive at this stage.
“However, we are cautiously optimistic, because we are ramping up through summer in terms of our water temperatures, and also, as we start to see the southeasterly winds kick in, we will start to see the upward length season come into play, which we expect to see every year, but we’ll be actively monitoring that as well.
He said that until the state navigates the peak summer and upwelling season “there’ll be no popping of champagne prematurely”.
“We don’t want to pop the champagne bottle now because we’re celebrating the fact that Karenia cristata has disappeared but there may be other players that will rear their ugly head as we go through a warming summer,” Steer said.
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“We’re hoping for the best, but let’s just get over this hump.”
Increased levels of Karenia were recorded in two regional sites: Emu Bay Jetty on Kangaroo Island, which recorded 141,100 cells per litre, and Whyalla Jetty, which recorded 185,000 cells per litre.
Regional testing locations showed mostly positive signs with zero or low levels of Karenia across much of the Eyre Peninsula, Yorke Peninsula and Fleurieu Peninsula.
The results followed a positive change in Karenia levels earlier in December, which led to SA’s public health chief ruling out closing beaches impacted by the algal bloom over summer.
Environment Minister Lucy Hood echoed Steer’s optimism and continued to encourage people to sign up to the summer plan dining cashback ballot to support beachside businesses and use the Beachsafe app to check the latest updates.
“As the school holidays start, I’m looking forward to, certainly, getting to the beach with my kids, particularly with this burst of very hot weather over the next couple of days,” Hood said.
“And it does bring us a lot of joy just seeing how busy a lot of our coastal areas are, and seeing people in our restaurants and cafes in our coastal communities.”
Water testing will continue through summer, and Steer said further data would be available later today.
