SA fishing ban imposed at artificial reefs at Wirrina and Nepean Bay

The widespread algal bloom* that recently struck South Australian waters, suffocating marine life and damaging ecosystems* across the state’s coastlines, has now largely gone. But the state introduced a range of measures to help revitalise the state’s waters, including bans on fishing that were extended this week.

Let’s take a look at how South Australia is dealing with the algal bloom recovery.

FISHING BANS
Recreational fishing bans have been imposed at two new artificial reefs* that were set up in SA to help save marine ecosystems damaged by the harmful algal bloom.

From Monday, all fishing was banned at artificial reefs in Wirrina, on the Fleurieu Peninsula, and Nepean Bay, on Kangaroo Island, for an initial 12-month period, according to a statement from the Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA).

After the initial 12-month period, ending on 25 May, 2027, PIRSA said the sites would reopen for recreational fishing only. Commercial fishing restrictions would remain across Gulf St Vincent for several species.

The ban at the concrete structures – purpose built to copy natural reef formations – has been set to allow species including snapper, kingfish, mulloway and squid to settle into the new habitat, PIRSA said.

The new reefs were installed earlier this month as part of a $600,000 marine recovery project to help the long-term regeneration* of marine populations wiped out by the algae.

PIRSA said the ban would help provide “new fishing hotspots” at the reefs, once ecosystems were established and restrictions lifted.

The Gulf St Vincent reef was intended to boost recreational fishing after the devastation caused by the bloom.

RecFish SA chief executive, Asher Dezsery, said recreational fishing generates more than $380 million a year for the state economy.

“What we’ve seen is when recreational fishing stops, the economy stops with it,” he said.

Mr Dezsery said reef projects in other states similar to the one at Gulf St Vincent “100 per cent assists fish stocks in recovering and creates biodiversity*”.

“We’ve seen a huge amount of long-lived reef species, invertebrates* die off from this algae, and what this reef does is it provides habitat,” he said.

NO MORE CALAMARI
The artificial reef bans came on the heels of existing bans already placed on fishing for key species across the South Australian coastline.

From May 1, a hard stop to southern squid fishing across both Gulf St Vincent and the Spencer Gulf was put in place, while a recreational and charter closure for garfish was set in the Gulf St Vincent, where a commercial ban was already in place.

The cephalopod* was one of the hardest hit species during the bloom, with some fishermen not able to catch any for months.

Premier Peter Malinauskas said while it was pleasing that the state’s coastline had recorded zero or low levels of the Karenia algae, it was important to remain vigilant and work on allowing fish and squid stocks to replenish.

A spawning* closure area around the southern Yorke Peninsula was put in place until July 31 to allow for recovery of King George whiting stocks.

SARDI executive director Professor Mike Steer said while the trends were encouraging, the Karenia algae was responsive to environmental conditions and the potential for future blooms would be monitored. He also said due to the shorter lifespan of squid, it was likely to recover quicker than other species with the ban in place.

“It’s a fast grower and out of all the species that we have, King George whiting, garfish, snapper, blue crab and calamari, it is most likely the fastest to recover given the appropriate level of protection,” Prof Steer said.

Mr Malinauskas said measures such as the algal bloom hotline would now be scaled back, and while daily reports would no longer appear on the BeachSafe app, there was an opportunity for SA to be a leader in global algal bloom research.

“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,” Mr Malinauskas said.

POLL

GLOSSARY

• algal bloom: a rapid and uncontrolled growth in algae which causes the water to look slimy or foamy. Some algae, like the one that bloomed in South Australia recently, can be toxic to sea life and bring sickness and death to many sea creatures
• ecosystems: the relationships between animals, plants and other organisms and their environment
• artificial reefs: reef like structures built from concrete or other materials that sea life can shelter in, designed to foster ecosystems and draw in more marine creatures to an area
• regeneration: regrowth and renewal
• biodiversity: the wide variety of life on Earth
• invertebrates: animals that don’t have backbones
• cephalopod: a marine animal belonging to the mollusc class Cephalopoda, including octopuses, squid and cuttlefish
• spawning: the reproductive process of fish where they release large quantities of sperm and eggs into the water

EXTRA READING
Algal bloom causing ocean crisis
Fake reef reels in catch of the day
Octopus leads diver to secret spot

QUICK QUIZ
1. Why is there a ban on fishing calamari in South Australia?
2. Why were artificial reefs installed along the coastline?
3. Why is there a ban on fishing at the artificial reefs?
4. How long does the artificial reef fishing ban go for?
5. Why is the calamari the most likely species to recover from the algal bloom?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. What creates an algal bloom?
What conditions create an algal bloom? Use information from the story to write a sentence that answers this question.

Time: Spend at least 10 minutes on this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Geography, Science

2. Extension
What steps would you recommend to make recreational and commercial fishing sustainable and protect against algal bloom in South Australian waters? Write a detailed list of steps and actions that you think could help to create this.

Time: Spend at least 20 minutes on this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Geography, Science

VCOP ACTIVITY
BAB it!
Show you have read and understood the article by writing three sentences using the connectives “because’’, “and”, and “but” (BAB). Your sentences can share different facts or opinions, or the same ones but written about in different ways.