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Senate Inquiry Launched as South Australia’s Algal Bloom Persists

The combined funding will support expanded monitoring and ecosystem recovery initiatives while the bloom continues to threaten vulnerable species.

A toxic algal bloom washes dead and dying sea creatures onto Largs Beach in Adelaide, Australia, on July 12, 2025.
A toxic algal bloom washes dead and dying sea creatures onto Tennyson Beach in Adelaide, Australia, on July 11, 2025.
Dead sea creatures washed onto the beach by a toxic agal bloom.
A sea creature washed onto the beach by a toxic algal bloom.

Overview

  • The Karenia mikimotoi bloom now covers more than 5,000 square kilometres of South Australia’s coast and has killed over 14,000 marine animals from more than 450 species.
  • A Senate inquiry convened on July 22 to investigate the bloom’s origins and government response, with its report due by October 28, 2025.
  • The federal government’s A$14 million pledge, matched by the state, finances a A$28 million package for expanded research, coastal water-quality tracking and habitat restoration under a PIRSA-led taskforce.
  • Commercial fisheries and aquaculture have collapsed in affected waters, with catches plummeting to near zero and about one third of state waters now devoid of fish.
  • Scientists warn that without significant cuts to greenhouse gas emissions and nutrient runoff, and improvements in early-warning systems, similarly severe blooms will recur.