At Least 12,000 Animals Killed By S. Australia's Toxic Algae Bloom; It's Now Approaching 2,000 Square Miles In Extent
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Beachgoers can be seen walking between carcasses, frantically calling their dogs away from the rotting fish. It has forced oyster and mussel farms to close, and has caused huge complications for the marine tourism industry. People have seen whats washed up on the shoreline, but thats just the tip of the iceberg, marine biologist and underwater cinematographer Stefan Andrews says.
Andrews is the co-founder of the Great Southern Reef Foundation (GSRF), which has been tracking the bloom. All of the habitats that these marine creatures depend on are deteriorating, he says. But its happening underwater and its going unnoticed. Footage from his dives contrast colourful, vibrant underwater scenes from before the bloom with murky after-shots that look almost apocalyptic.
And theres weird stuff going on, Andrews says. Critters youd normally see at night appearing during the day. Abalone sitting upside down. A brittle star related to the starfish, but with long, spindly arms has its middle missing, like a doughnut. It seems to be rotting away from the inside. When he looked under the kelp canopy while diving off Kangaroo Island, the invertebrates, the sponges, the sea squirts, were all dead or dying and falling apart.
As is always the case in the modern world, conspiracy theories have sprung up around the bloom. Some say Chinese warships caused it, others blame the desalination plant, some blame cloud seeding. Estuarine ecologist Faith Coleman says people are desperate for answers. Im spending an awful lot of time doing something I hate to do, which is myth busting, whereas Id prefer to be concentrating on solving the problem, she says. She also says the contribution of the Murray floods and the upwelling were minor contributors. Overwhelmingly, she says, it was the marine heatwave.
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https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jul/20/sas-toxic-algal-bloom-is-twice-the-size-of-the-act-has-killed-12000-animals-and-is-filling-even-the-experts-with-dread