Toxic Algal Bloom Hits South Australia
Toxic Algal Bloom Hits South Australia, as more than 200 marine organisms, including deep-water sharks, octopuses and leafy sea dragons, are killed off by the recent die-offs, complain conservationists. Keep yourself apprised about this critical environmental crisis.
Toxic Algal Bloom Hits South Australia
The algae – Karenia mikimotoi – have been reported in more than 150 km of coastline since the first detection in March, an area nearly as large as Kangaroo Island.
Following these algae appearances, there have been witnessed mass deaths of fish, shellfish, sharks, sea dragons, rays, cuttlefish, and deepwater species within the southern coastline by the local populace and scientists.
South Australia’s environment minister stated that the scale of an outbreak had reached unprecedented heights. “It is a bigger flower than we’ve ever seen,” said Susan Close.
Scientists say that the heatwave, which has been raging in the sea since July 2020, fuels it, as the sea temperature is 2.5 °C above the average. Also, the calm condition is beneficial for the growth of the water.
Referred to as a “toxic blanket”, the bloom chokes fish by destroying the gills and assaulting red blood cells and the nervous system. It can cause haemorrhaging, unpredictable behaviour in the affected animals. “It is like a horror movie for fish,” Brad Martin of OzFish told The Guardian.
Ms Close stated that the government could not do much. “The only thing that is gonna break up this bloom is a change in the weather and to start getting strong westerly winds,” she said.
A study of over 1400 citizen science reports showed that nearly half of the dead species belonged to the ray-finned fish, while over a quarter of the dead species were sharks and rays. Among the affected species were cephalopods like squid and cuttlefish, sh and crustaceans – crabs and lobsters.
While harmless to human beings, the algae have led to skin irritation and respiratory symptoms among the beachgoers.
Some oyster farms have been temporarily shut down by authorities with harvesting of pipi banned in sections of South Australia.
The first alarm about the bloom was raised by the beachgoers in March when large amounts of foam and dead marine animals were washed ashore on Waitpinga and Parsons beach on the Fleurieu Peninsula.
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Toxic Algal Bloom Hits South Australia
The algae, Professor Shauna Murray of University of Technology Sydney saw under a microscope and confirmed through DNA analysis, is a species commonly used in aquacultures.
She claimed to know to The Guardian that K mikimotoi was capable of producing reactive oxygen which could suffocate marine life.
South Australia’s government said winds to clear the algal bloom were being prevented by high pressure holding out – another symptom of changing climate patterns.
Authorities say that we have yet to understand the full ecological and economic impacts of the bloom, but environmental groups say that we need better monitoring and more decisive action on marine heatwaves, which have become drastically more common as our oceans continue to heat up.
At the same time, southern Australia is actively experiencing one of the worst droughts in history.
Ms Close alerted everyone to how bad climate change was making the crisis.
The minister said ocean monitoring displayed “a full-scale climate emergency in our coastal waters”, the bloom covered an area roughly equivalent to Kangaroo Island and was up to 20m deep.
These extremely hot heat waves in the ocean are not abnormalities, but the fact of the future. And our marine ecosystems are first victims”.
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