At the peak of the algal bloom thousands of fish were found washed ashore each day. Photo: SA Department of Primary Industries.
The South Australia Government has announced a relaxation of some of its Algal Bloom Summer Plan response measures after improved beach conditions and the latest monitoring trends showed conditions have eased.
The government says water testing results in the week starting 19 April have showed that all but one of South Australia’s 110 testing sites near Adelaide, the Eyre Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, Southern Fleurieu, Coorong and the South East coastline are continuing to record zero or low levels of the Karenia algae species.
Just one site at Bickers Island off the south-east of the Eyre Peninsula has recorded elevated levels of Karenia above 10,000 cells per litre of water, while all 19 test sites off the Yorke Peninsula have also showed zero or low levels of Karenia.
A joint State and Federal government response committed more than $160 million to the algal bloom which peaked in early summer 2025-26. The response included increased research and monitoring and support for coastal communities and businesses to recover from what has been called an unprecedented event.
In response to the improved conditions, from 1 May local councils or relevant landowners will resume normal beach management arrangements, with state government field officers and regional contractors no longer conducting daily inspections of metropolitan and regional beaches.
In accordance with state government testing procedures, water testing for Karenia in areas of non-active bloom will also revert from weekly to monthly testing, although any areas of active bloom will continue to undergo high-frequency testing.
Other changes include an upgrade to the dedicated website www.algalbloom.sa.gov.au to include links to the livestream beach cameras as well as the latest water testing results from seven regions across the state. Daily algal bloom reports that were implemented at metropolitan and some regional beaches will no longer feature on the Beachsafe website and app.
Elsewhere, algal bloom signs at South Australia’s beaches will be withdrawn from council areas when zero or low Karenia cell counts have been recorded for four consecutive weeks, while the Algal Bloom Community Hotline (1800 774 779) will transition from a staffed service to an automated model.
In parallel to the relaxation in the response, changes have been made to temporary fishing restrictions, including the removal of all restrictions on the blue crab in Gulf St Vincent, a total closure for southern calamari across both gulfs for commercial, recreational and charter boat fishing, and a recreational and charter boat closure for garfish in Gulf St Vincent.
Additionally, a spawning closure will be implemented for King George Whiting across both gulfs until 31 July, while recreational and charter boat fishing limits for the species in Spencer Gulf have returned to 100 per cent.
All other existing fishing restrictions that have been in place since December will remain, but will be subject to quarterly scientific reviews.
Premier Peter Malinauskas said it was pleasing the vast majority of South Australia’s coastline had recorded zero or low levels of Karenia for the past three months.
“However, the possibility of future blooms cannot be discounted and we must remain vigilant,” he said.
“South Australians are enjoying our amazing beaches and coastal communities right across the state, but that does not take away from the algal bloom’s significant impact on our marine environment.
“Government agencies will continue to work together to closely monitor the situation, and people can stay up to date with latest testing results and conditions via the algal bloom website.”
