Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

hatrack

(63,028 posts)
Sun Jul 20, 2025, 07:50 AM Sunday

At Least 12,000 Animals Killed By S. Australia's Toxic Algae Bloom; It's Now Approaching 2,000 Square Miles In Extent

EDIT

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 what’s washed up on the shoreline, but that’s 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 it’s happening underwater and it’s going unnoticed.” Footage from his dives contrast colourful, vibrant underwater scenes from before the bloom with murky after-shots that look almost apocalyptic.

And there’s “weird” stuff going on, Andrews says. Critters you’d 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. “I’m spending an awful lot of time doing something I hate to do, which is myth busting, whereas I’d 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.

EDIT

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

Latest Discussions»Issue Forums»Environment & Energy»At Least 12,000 Animals K...