Sarah Herrmann, Yorke Peninsula Country Times

Southern Yorke Peninsula residents have criticised the speed at which advice was provided to the public about the toxic microalgae bloom, which has been detected at Edithburgh and Coobowie, and caused dead marine life to wash up on numerous other SYP beaches.

Edithburgh resident Rick Hutchison said his swimming club used the Edithburgh Tidal Pool daily, and members had been swimming in the cloudy water before finding out its cause.

“Various reports came in, just word of mouth, nothing from council or the government, not that I visit government websites,” he said.

“There’s no sort of warnings for people, there’s only watch out for symptoms and watch out for discoloured water and foam.”

“There wasn’t a lot of foam, it was just dead fish and the water was very cloudy.”

He said he experienced a cough, and a friend of his who had surfed in Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park had experienced flu-like symptoms including fever.

Mr Hutchison said he would have liked to see signage at popular spots, such as the Edithburgh Tidal Pool, informing beachgoers about the risks of exposure to the algae, which also includes skin and eye irritation, and shortness of breath.

“There were tourists down there swimming and I went down there one day to warn people,” he said.

Port Moorowie resident Russell Boord agreed that the bloom “was kept fairly quiet to begin with”.

“You don’t want to go scaring people but at the same time you don’t want people getting sick,” he said.

Algae bloom: locals urge quicker alerts

While the algae hadn’t been detected at Port Moorowie, Mr Boord said it still exhibited scenes of “death and destruction”.

“Tides, wind and current are taking them (dead marine life) there,” he said.

“The other day I found a little stingray, a couple of Port Jackson sharks.

“It’s not pretty and it’s very smelly.”

Mr Boord does fortnightly water sampling on SYP, and said the warm water and still conditions were causing the bloom, which experts have confirmed.

“I’ve been doing the water testing for probably 18 years now … this year I’ve tested spots where it’s got to 27 degrees and I’ve never, ever seen it that hot,” he said.

“It’s been three degrees warmer all summer than it should be.”

Authorities respond

Authorities maintained it was safe to walk and swim at SYP beaches, albeit not in any water that was discoloured or foamy, over the Easter weekend.

Any symptoms would resolve within hours, and the algae did not contain toxins affecting humans or dogs, SA Health principal water quality adviser David Cunliffe said in a press conference on Thursday, April 17.

The same day, an SA Health Facebook post advised leaving the beach and staying indoors with the windows closed if experiencing symptoms, speaking to a doctor if symptoms persisted or worsened, and not consuming dead fish or cockles.

It said the algae posed no long-term health risk to humans.

In a statement provided to the YPCT, SA Health said coastal mayors attended an April 9 meeting where they were advised councils were responsible for erecting signs at beaches (except in national parks) affected by the blooms if they believed they were needed.

“SA Health has provided councils with information about the potential health impacts of the blooms and has reviewed the information on proposed signs where requested,” the statement read.

A Yorke Peninsula Council spokesperson said council had supported state government agencies by sharing public health warnings.

“While council helps communicate updates, it is the state government agencies that monitor water quality and issue warnings,” they said.

“The public is encouraged to stay informed and follow advice issued via SA Health’s official channels.”

Councillor Scott Hoyle said, at YPC’s April 16 meeting, he believed council should have been more proactive with its communication to the public so false narratives could be shut down.

Beaches, including at Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park, were to remain open on the Easter weekend, with signage installed directing beachgoers to the SA Health website, SA National Parks and Wildlife’s Stuart Paul said at the press conference.

PIRSA said it was not responsible for health advice to beach users.

Fish kill reports can be made by calling Fishwatch on 1800 065 522.

Timeline

• March 15: Dozens of dead fish and marine life washed up on Fleurieu Peninsula beaches. Some people also reported experiencing sore eyes, coughing and blurry vision after visiting Waitpinga and Parsons Beaches on FP. NASA maps showed chlorophyll levels were high for this time of year in the Spencer and St Vincent Gulfs, and FP.
• March 25: The Environment Protection Authority identified toxic microalgae Karenia mikimotoi as the cause of fish kills on FP.
• April 6: Divers at Edithburgh observed large numbers of dead marine life around the town’s jetty. Similar discoveries were made at Troubridge Island and Wool Bay.
• April 14: PIRSA confirmed low levels of Karenia mikimotoi had been found in samples from Edithburgh and Coobowie. K. mikimotoi had not been detected in samples from Point Moorowie, Port Vincent or Stansbury. Results from samples at Butlers Beach, Marion Bay and Pondalowie were still pending.
• April 17: Cold fronts and strong westerly winds were required to dissipate the algal bloom, Sam Gaylard from the Environmental Protection Authority said at a press conference. He said disruption to the ecosystem would be short-term and it was expected to bounce back quickly. 
  

This article appeared in Yorke Peninsula Country Times, 23 April 2025.
Related stories: Toxic algae found along coast, Suspected microalgae bloom kills SYP sea life