Temporary fishing restrictions on several popular species will come into effect on May 1 to help populations recover after the algal bloom.
A total closure will be implemented for southern calamari across both gulfs for commercial, recreational and charter boat fishing.
A recreational and charter boat closure will be implemented for garfish in Gulf St Vincent, which is already subject to a commercial closure.
And a spawning closure will be implemented for King George whiting across areas of both gulfs until July 31.
An increase in abundance of blue crab in Gulf St Vincent has allowed the removal of all restrictions on this species, and all other existing fishing restrictions will remain in place, subject to quarterly scientific reviews.
The State Government is now in a position to adjust some of its Algal Bloom Summer Plan response measures as monitoring continues to show improved beach conditions.
Results show most of South Australia’s coastline continues to record zero or low levels of the Karenia algae species, with the majority of testing sites across Adelaide, Eyre Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, Southern Fleurieu, Coorong and the state’s South East consistently recording zero or low levels of Karenia since the start of February.
All but one (Bickers Island, off Eyre Peninsula) of the more than 110 onshore testing sites recorded zero or low levels of Karenia according to the latest results from the week beginning 19 April.
Latest results also show zero or low levels of Karenia at all 19 testing sites on Yorke Peninsula.
In line with lower levels of Karenia across South Australian waters, incidents of marine life washing up on beaches has declined significantly since the peak of the algal bloom.
In response to months of improved conditions, the following measures will be implemented from May 1:
- 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. State Government beach clean-up crews are currently removing less than 50kg of dead marine life from South Australian beaches a week, down from more than 9400kg a week in early December 2025.
- In accordance with State Government testing procedures, water testing for Karenia in areas of non-active bloom will revert to monthly testing. Areas of active bloom will continue to undergo high-frequency testing.
- The dedicated website algalbloom.sa.gov.au (external site) will be enhanced to include links to the livestream beach cameras, alongside regular information on the latest water testing results from seven regions across the state.
- Livestream videos of 20 popular beaches across Adelaide and regionals areas will remain available from the Beachsafe (external site) website and app, allowing people to see latest beach conditions for themselves.
- Daily algal bloom reports implemented at metropolitan and some regional beaches over the busy summer months will no longer feature on the Beachsafe website and app, reflecting that the vast majority of beaches are now consistently clean and free of abnormal foam or abnormal water colour.
- Algal bloom signs across South Australia’s beaches will be progressively withdrawn from council areas when zero or low Karenia cell counts have been recorded for four consecutive weeks at monitoring sites in that council area.
- In response to a significant decline in demand, the Algal Bloom Community Hotline (1800 774 779) will transition from a staffed service to an automated model that connects callers to existing services to report fish kills, dead or injured wildlife, or access general health or mental health support services.
For more information on the South Australian algal bloom situation visit www.algalbloom.sa.gov.au (external site)
