🐠 What’s happening

  • The waters off South Australia, including popular dive spots like the Edithburgh Jetty, have turned a thick green and brown.

  • Conservationists are reporting over 200 species dead — from small fish to great white sharks.

  • Beaches are littered with carcasses, and residents are being told to stay out of the water.

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🌡️ Why it matters

  • This bloom is part of a marine heatwave, with ocean temperatures around 2.5°C higher than usual.

  • Calm seas, higher air temps, and low winds have created perfect conditions for the algae to grow fast — and kill faster.

  • According to the Australian Marine Conservation Society, these heatwaves are becoming longer, more frequent, and more dangerous due to climate change.

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🧪 The science

  • The culprit is a toxic algal bloom — a rapid increase in algae that depletes oxygen and releases toxins.

  • Reef-dwelling species like pufferfish and crabs are hit especially hard because they can’t escape.

  • The last event of this scale happened in 2014, according to the South Australian Government.

More data is being crowd-sourced through sites like iNaturalist, where locals are mapping marine deaths.

⚠️ The fallout

  • Public health warning: Officials are urging people not to swim.

  • Fishing and tourism: Local oyster farms are under quarantine, and restaurants on Kangaroo Island are reportedly unable to serve fresh fish.

  • Government response: The state says it’s “monitoring the situation closely” — but there’s no word yet on support for impacted industries.

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🦠 What’s next

  • Experts are hoping to see:

    • Cooler temperatures

    • More ocean mixing between surface and deep waters

    • Less sunlight and fewer nutrients to starve the algae

    But all of that depends on the weather — and in a warming Australia, blooms like this could become more common.

📚 For a deep dive, check out this explainer by marine ecologist Dr Janine Baker.

Thumbnail Credit: Snorkel Spots (YouTube) / Supplied

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