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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2026/mar/14/algal-bloom-south-australia-update-one-year-on>
"The largest and most destructive algal bloom in Australia’s history is
persisting along parts of the South Australian coastline, a year on from when
it was first detected.
From a distance, it can be hard to grasp just how unusual and devastating the
crisis has been.
Most harmful blooms only last a few weeks. This one has been unrelenting.
Since March last year it has affected 20,000 sq km of coast – an area twice the
size of greater Sydney – and ranks among the worst for marine mass mortality
globally, killing millions of sea creatures – from tiny shellfish to top
predators like white sharks.
It is Australia’s first bloom of
Karenia cristata, a rare and toxic type of
algae deadly to marine life and harmful to human health, according to Prof
Shauna Murray, from the University of Technology Sydney.
Murray, who was the first to identify the species in water samples from SA,
says the species has only been recorded in two other places worldwide – South
Africa and an island off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
Prof David Booth, a marine ecologist who specialises in sea dragons at the
University of Technology Sydney, describes the impact on marine life as “the
most awful, tragic thing I’ve personally seen in the ocean in my 40-year
career”.
More than 780 species have been affected, including “devastating losses” of the
state’s marine emblem, the leafy sea dragon, reported by divers and citizen
scientists."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
