Chapter 5Impact on marine industries and coastal communities
Overview
5.1This chapter outlines the impact of the harmful algal bloom on South Australia’s (SA) marine industries, including commercial fisheries and aquaculture operators, tourism and recreational sectors, as well as on regional and coastal communities.
5.2This chapter also canvasses the views expressed about the adequacy of financial assistance and other support to industry provided by the Commonwealth and SA Governments as well as other measures to support recovery and long-term resilience.
Economic impacts of the harmful algal bloom on marine industries
5.3SA’s marine industries make a significant contribution to the state’s economy. Marine industries encompass a broad range of sectors, including commercial fishing and aquaculture, post-harvest and supply chain businesses such as seafood processors, as well as tourism and recreational industries that depend directly on the health and accessibility of the coastal and marine environment.
5.4SA’s fisheries and aquaculture industries contribute an estimated $788 million in Gross State Product, and directly employ more than 6,250 South Australians.
5.5The SA Government estimated that around 200 businesses along the affected coastline may be significantly impacted by the algal bloom. A further 200 tourism operators, including recreational fishing charters, wildlife encounter tours and beach-based tour operators are also estimated to be impacted.
5.6The committee heard evidence about the widespread economic impacts of the algal bloom across the fishing, aquaculture and tourism sectors. These impacts ranged from direct financial losses due to closures of fisheries and harvesting areas and stock mortality, to longer term reputational harm and business uncertainty.
5.7Seafood Industry South Australia, a peak body representing all wild catch, aquaculture and post-harvest elements of the SA seafood industry, described the current algal bloom as a ‘crisis of unprecedented scale for the seafood industry’, risking ‘long-term damage to the state’s seafood economy, the viability of marine-based industries, and the communities they sustain’.
5.8It outlined that closures of fisheries and aquaculture operations in the Gulf St Vincent, Kangaroo Island, Lakes and Coorong and Spencer Gulf, has led to a substantial or complete loss of income-generating capacity for operators for several months due to reductions in catch.
5.9Local governments and representative bodies across affected regions, including the Coorong District Council, Kangaroo Island Council, the City of Port Lincoln, the Yorke Peninsula Council, Local Government Association of South Australia (LGA SA) and the Eyre Peninsula Local Government Association, provided evidence of severe economic disruption to local industries and small businesses.
5.10The City of Port Lincoln noted that the closure of shellfish harvesting areas such as Boston Bay, Bickers Island and Proper Bay, has resulted in production losses and uncertainty for aquaculture operators.
5.11Similarly Kangaroo Island Council highlighted the impact on its local commercial fisheries, oyster and abalone industries due to closures or reduced access to fishing grounds during algal bloom events.
5.12The Yorke Peninsula Council reported that businesses along the St Vincent Gulf coast are experiencing trade downturns between 8.5 per cent and 40 per cent:
The professional fishing industry is at a standstill, with marine ecosystems severely impacted. Oyster growers remain in limbo, unable to sell product and facing prolonged income loss with no relief in sight.
5.13While the total economic cost is difficult to determine, the evidence provided to the committee indicated substantial losses to date and the likelihood of ongoing impacts.
5.14Yumbah Aquaculture, a producer and farmer of abalone, oysters and mussels, estimated the direct costs to its business from the algal bloom at approximately $5 million, factoring in lost harvest, enforced closures and urgent capital works to mitigate risk.
5.15Safcol Australia, a major supplier of fresh, packaged and frozen seafood, reported that in the last three months of 2025, it had received 20 to 25 per cent less fish by quantity, and saw a 27 per cent drop in value compared to the previous year. This represented an average loss of around $200,000 per month to scalefish fisheries. As an operator of the Adelaide fish market, Safcol Australia also reported decreased auction prices of 25 per cent due to reduced consumer demand.
5.16Ian Mitchell of Safcol Australia described the current situation:
We've got one fisherman at Port Wakefield who hasn't caught a fish since 21 August—not a fish. He goes out every day, wastes his money on fuel and ice, and comes back with nothing. It's heartbreaking for these guys. I'm a person that sits in the middle of our buyers—retailers, wholesalers—and our fishermen that go out to supply them. I'm sitting between the two, and there's a lot of doom and gloom at the moment. I have fishermen on the phone, in tears, talking. I offer my ear to all these people. I'm not just the market manager; I feel like I'm their mate. I've been dealing with these people for 25 years. I feel sorry for the guys that haven't been able to make a wage, and I feel sorry for our retailers who, at the moment, are buying a record number of squid cartons, because they're filleting fish and freezing it because the public won't eat it.
Workforce impacts
5.17The workforce of the sectors impacted by the algal bloom, such as the seafood industry, have been described as specialised, but often seasonal and casualised, labour particularly concentrated in regional coastal communities.
5.18Inquiry participants highlighted the significant impacts on the workforce, including across the fishing, aquaculture and tourism sectors. One submitter estimated that if the algal bloom spreads to major seafood producing areas, it is reasonable to expect that ‘between 5,000 and 10,000 workers would be displaced statewide’.
5.19The committee heard evidence about businesses standing down staff and/or reducing the hours of their staff. Yumbah Aquaculture, for example, reported that its operations at Kangaroo Island and Port Lincoln had been dramatically disrupted, with employees in these locations stood down or working reduced hours. The CEO of Yumbah stated:
With the closure of our mussel operations we had to stand down around 45 casual staff. We also had to reduce the hours of our permanent staff.
That was a duration of approximately four weeks.
5.20In the Port Lincoln and Eyre Peninsula region, one oyster business at Coffin Bay reported a 40 to 50 per cent impact in terms of staff operating levels. Another business reported reducing their staffing hours by 30 to 35 per cent in the July to August period.
5.21Commercial fishing owner-operators that rely on crew also described having to terminate staff. A commercial crab fishery observed that it had shut down one of its vessels due to consistently declining catch rates, leading to job losses for its casual crew:
The second vessel…has a young skipper who has been with us for seven years but only recently was promoted from a deckhand to a skipper of his own vessel and two casual crew.
Much like the other vessel, visual observations were noticed first before a sharp and consistent decline in catch rate followed, from above 3.6kg/ pot lift pre-June, to 1.4kg/pot in June, 0.8kg/pot in July and 0.3kg/pot in August. As a result, the decision was made to shut down this vessel until further notice. Our skipper was redeployed to Spencer Gulf to join the other two vessels and unfortunately, the two casual crew had to be let go.
5.22Tourism-dependent businesses, such as caravan parks, were also reported to have laid off staff, reduced hours and, in some instances, having to operate without paid employees.
5.23Workforce retention was identified as one of the most critical challenges facing SA’s marine industries, with the risk of losing skilled staff and industry expertise due to the unknown duration of the algal bloom.
5.24Seafood Industry SA submitted that any long-term recovery will rely on the ability to ‘sustain and retain our skilled workforce in circumstances where activity has stopped or is significantly reduced’.
5.25A number of submitters recommended targeted workforce strategies, including specialised financial assistance, such as a JobKeeper-style program, to provide a safety net for workers and ensure they remain connected to their industry, employer and regions. These, and other proposals, are set out further in this chapter.
Reputational damage and consumer confidence
5.26The algal bloom has also impacted public perception of SA seafood, with concerns raised about declining consumer confidence and reputational damage to seafood export markets even where seafood is sourced from unaffected waters.
5.27According to the South Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA), in 2023–24 the major export markets for SA seafood (such as rock lobster, southern bluefin tuna, abalone, oysters and prawns) were Japan ($121 million), Hong Kong ($41 million), China ($15 million) and Vietnam ($14 million).
5.28Seafood Industry SA outlined the damaging impact of the algal bloom on seafood consumption:
[A]s significant as the algal bloom has been for our industry, at this stage, the change in seafood consumption may be as or more harmful. We are starting to see seafood operators who are unaffected by the algal bloom—which is to say, they're fishing in waters that are unaffected by the algal bloom—having to lay off staff, such is the drop in consumer demand led by concerns around the safety of consuming seafood.
5.29In a similar vein, Mr Pat Tripodi of the Marine Fishers Association Inc, described the impact of the algal bloom on Melbourne-based consumers with reports of SA seafood being rejected over safety concerns:
…[t]he majority of our fish are local—to South Australians and interstate to Sydney and Melbourne. But we have definitely felt big impacts in customer confidence, consumer confidence. It actually started in Melbourne before it did in South Australia. We started having people in the Melbourne markets turning our product away over fears it might be unsafe.
5.30Several submitters, including the City of Port Lincoln, emphasised the need for careful messaging to avoid deterring international export markets and domestic consumers. The Mayor of Port Lincoln stated:
Port Lincoln is pleased with the language being used of 'marine mortality events' and/or 'significant ecological event', as this terminology—rather than 'catastrophe', 'disaster' or 'emergency'—is less likely to deter our international export markets and domestic fish markets.
5.31Muriel Scholz of Regional Development Australia Yorke and Mid North recounted that an abalone diver from Port Hughes had been advised not to catch their quota due to reputational risks with overseas buyers:
I was talking to an abalone diver from Port Hughes, which is a bit further up. What they have found is that they caught their quota, which is now in the freezer, and they were going to go out again in September. They were told by the wholesaler, 'Don't bother, because we're not selling anything.' He put that to the dual thing of—internationally there has been word that we have got an algal bloom, and they are being wary. Also, he thinks—and it's his opinion—that a lot of the overseas buyers are waiting to see if the price drops down.
5.32Another submitter described reports of ‘major interstate, international and interstate buyers have reduced or completely cut purchases, local and statewide sales are down more than 50%’. They further observed the significant impacts on the workforce due to ‘negative perceptions of the safety of the product… whether or not the algal bloom has been present in local waters’.
5.33The SA Government’s ‘Buy SA Seafood’ campaign was launched in September 2025 to encourage South Australians, and other domestic markets, to eat SA seafood. This was discussed in Chapter 3.
The loss of livelihood and the impact on industry viability
5.34The committee heard evidence about the severe financial stress faced by smaller local operators including individual commercial fishers, many of whom reported that it had become commercially unviable to continue fishing in affected areas.
5.35Mr Michael Pennington, a commercial fisherman from Ardrossan with 16 years of experience, stated that his ‘business has been shut for 90 days now with not one fish being caught’.
5.36Mr Nathan Eatts, a sixth-generation fisherman from Cape Calamari, reported that he had not caught calamari for 147 days. He described the declines in catch rates and its impact on the mental health of commercial fishers:
[O]nly 24 kilos of calamari has been caught commercially in GSV [Gulf St Vincent] since 1 July, and that would normally be well over 20 tonnes. The same goes for other commercially valuable species. They've been severely impacted, and it's just not viable to go fishing for them.
It's an extremely stressful time for me and other commercial fishers, and our mental health is suffering. We're watching our businesses, which we've poured our hearts and souls into for years and years, just being destroyed—and there isn't anything we can do about it. It's not only the licence holders that are struggling; it's also all our workers that are associated with our businesses.
5.37Mr Bart Butson, a fisher from Port Wakefield and owner of B and M Buston Fisheries, described similarly devastating impacts on catches in Gulf St Vincent:
Our catches in GSV [Gulf St Vincent] now are very low. There's not enough to commercially fish. There's next-to-no squid—it's like they never existed and it's very strange. There's almost no garfish. It's been hard to be a fisherman lately. It's been absolutely horrible, to be honest, to have to ply your trade out on the water and to see it. I know what happens—we see the footage on the news and we see the beaches, and that's hard enough. But to actually have to go out in it and with it, and see the fish dying has been heartbreaking.
5.38Mr Butson outlined that the algal bloom had moved progressively north through the gulf, describing it as a ‘curtain of doom’ as it approached their fishing grounds:
Where I fish from is at the top of the gulf at Port Wakefield. I've heard from my colleagues at the very south part of the gulf that this horrible coloured water was coming and that, once it came, there would be no squid to be found…
Then it was like a curtain of doom, honestly. I would hear from my colleagues, fisherman at Edithburgh and Stansbury: 'You're not going to like this when this comes. This is terrible. The fish disappear overnight and/or they move.' The guys from Edithburgh and Stansbury were reporting, just talking to their fellow fishers in other areas, saying that they had to move because they were fishing one day and they caught a bunch of squid and whiting and then the next day the water was dirty and there was nothing.
It seemed to affect the calamari and cuttlefish first. Where I was fishing at the top of the gulf was the last place, and we knew it was coming. We felt hopeless about it. We noticed that the cuttlefish were on the top of the water dead. We could see hundreds and hundreds. Just one day after a storm—I'll digress a little—the government scientists were telling us that after the first storms it would dissipate and get better. I wish that happened. But after the first storm, we saw dead cuttlefish, and from that point on, within two weeks there were no squid. I haven't seen a squid since.
Then the garfish disappeared; they must have been a little bit more resilient…but we also witnessed dead white pointer sharks, dead gummy sharks, dead bronze whaler sharks, dead fiddler rays and dead smooth rays. All of the bottom-feeding fish died quickly as well. They were probably amongst the first group of fish to die. I guess self-preservation was kicking in and I was thinking, 'Perhaps it's the fish that can't move that will die, and the garfish and whiting will be alright.' But, in time, we found out that wasn't the case because the garfish then died. There's very few of those left. The records show that there are hardly any being caught. The whiting species appear to be the most resilient, and they were the last ones to hang in there.
5.39A commercial fishing business operating as Two Gulfs Crab, described the same pattern of decline in catch. The business reported a ‘sharp and consistent decline in catch rate’ in the Gulf St Vincent, forcing it to cease operations in the area:
This vessel started to experience the effects of HAB [harmful algal bloom] around the 9th of July. This came firstly in the form of visual observations of a change in water quality and an unusual amount of dead sea life observed and ultimately followed by a sharp and consistent decline in catch rate, from averaging above 3.5kg/pot up to June, to 1.9kg/pot in July and finally 0.1kgs/per pot in August. As a result, the decision was made to cease fishing in GSV from August.
5.40The company estimated that if the algal bloom were to continue through to 30 June 2026, the financial impact would be approximately 65 per cent, with ‘significant financial loss and cash flow strain for the second half of the financial year and beyond.’
5.41Commercial fishers also described the loss in value in commercial fishing licenses, with some reporting that the decline in value had jeopardised their retirement plans. Mr Ashley Perkins, a commercial fisher from the Yorke Peninsula, stated that the value of fishing licenses had been pushed to a ‘new low’ with their current value about half or even less compared to pre-1998 levels:
Prior to 1998, a licence was worth around $200,000—for a hook licence. Twenty-seven years later, with 200 licences left out of the original 600, the value is about half or even less. So, for fishers like myself—I'm in my 60s; I'm looking at retirement. That investment, when I got into the fishery, was always intended to be sold off at the end of my career and used as a big part of my superannuation. That's gone. I don't have that anymore.
5.42Similar concerns were raised by the owners of a commercial fishing business who were planning their transition to retirement:
This is now jeopardised and elongated by the financial restraints that will occur. The ongoing uncertainty is significant and must not be underestimated.
Concerns about overfishing
5.43Due to the devastating marine mortality caused by the HAB, several commercial fishers called for the immediate ceasing of fishing within affected areas to ensure surviving fish stock have a chance to recover and breed. For example, Mr Butson stated:
From my own perspective, I do think it's necessary that we stop fishing, and I think it will be necessary for the government to help us out until the fish become sustainable again…
…But, from what I see, for the fish and the marine species to have the best opportunity to recover as quickly as they can, I think we should give them a break. I think we should stop catching them.
5.44Mr Michael Pennington, a commercial fisher, stated that allowing any continued fishing in impacted areas represented ‘complete and utter mismanagement of the highest degree’, recommending that commercial fishing should cease until comprehensive stock assessments are completed.
5.45Measures to ensure the sustainability of fish stocks and longer-term fisheries management is set out later in this chapter.
Delays in brevetoxin testing results and impacts on industry
5.46The committee heard concerns from industry representatives about the lack of local testing capability to test for brevetoxins during the algal bloom crisis.
5.47As outlined in Chapter 3, the SA Government announced that Agilex Biolabs in Adelaide will begin conducting regular brevetoxin testing for PIRSA from October 2025. Prior to the establishment of this local testing capability, the closest facility available was located in New Zealand.
5.48The Chair of the SA Oyster Growers Association, Mr Peter Treloar, stated that ‘a nine-day testing time for product to be sent to New Zealand to be tested and for the results to come back is significant when time is critical’.
5.49These delays have had significant impacts for producers and led to precautionary and extended harvest closures, particularly within the shellfish industry.
5.50The uncertainty and delay with brevetoxin test turnaround times has also created significant operational challenges. Oyster and abalone growers reported difficulties in managing stock movements due to the risk of transferring brevetoxin to unaffected growing areas, and called for clear guidance on acceptable levels for safe stock movement.
5.51Some industry participants described brevetoxin as a ‘moving picture’, highly variable and difficult to monitor without rapid local testing. The President and Chair of the Abalone Industry Association SA, Mr Thomas McNab stated:
Bivalves express the brevetoxins very quickly, so it's week by week that you're testing, and, by the time you get those results back, the brevetoxins might have been expressed. It's a moving picture, so to speak, so it's really hard. Until we have the facilities in Australia and we can do quick testing within days, it's going to be hard to have that full, centralised dataset that you can actually monitor day by day.
5.52For some operators, the delay in testing results has led directly to product loss. As discussed in Chapter 7, Kuti Co, a First-Nations led enterprise, continued harvesting during the algal bloom period while awaiting brevetoxin test results. The company was later required to recall and destroy around 40 tonnes of pippis after receiving positive brevetoxin results two weeks later.
Impacts on tourism
5.53The committee received extensive evidence about the significant impacts of the algal bloom on SA’s tourism industry, particularly in regional areas which rely heavily on marine-based tourism. These impacts were felt through losses in revenue, cancellations and operational disruptions, as well as concerns about reputational damage.
5.54Tourism operators, particularly those in coastal regions, reported substantial financial losses. A July 2025 survey by Tourism Industry Council SA (TiCSA), a peak body for the SA tourism industry, found that of responding businesses in the Yorke Peninsula, Fleurieu Peninsula, Eyre Peninsula, Kangaroo Island and Adelaide metropolitan areas:
99 per cent have lost income;
the average financial loss was $52,000, with 14 per cent experiencing losses of more than $100,000;
all businesses have reported cancellations or anticipate continuing a downturn in business for the next 3 months.
5.55The committee heard directly from local councils, tourism operators and small businesses about significant downturns in revenue related to the impact of the algal bloom.
5.56Kangaroo Island Tourism Alliance, a peak industry body representing over 120 member businesses on Kangaroo Island, reported that that various tourism and aquaculture operators had cancelled bookings or reduced bookings due to the algal blooms:
The emergence of algal blooms, particularly in sensitive marine park sanctuary zones in areas such as Nepean Bay and Pelican Lagoon, and across our northern coastline threatens the very essence of our tourism offering. Visitors are drawn to our pristine coastlines, clean waters and safe swimming and fishing environments. Algal blooms compromise visitor safety, reduce visual appeal, and directly impact tourism experiences such as marine tours and fishing, and more widely the flow on visitor spend within island.
5.57The Yorke Peninsula Council outlined that its local businesses are reporting downturns of as much as 40 per cent with reports of widespread summer booking cancellations. Mr Richard Carruthers, Acting Mayor of the Yorke Peninsula Council stated:
If the bloom persists and summer visitation is reduced by 30 per cent, that will represent a $75 million hit to our community, just for summer.
5.58The Yorke Peninsula Council also described the direct financial impact to the council as an operator of six caravan parks and 19 campgrounds:
As a direct impact to council—we own and operate six caravan parks and 19 campgrounds around the place, and they're all down by about half of what they would be this time last year. If that trajectory continues, we're talking about an over $1 million hit direct to council, which is pretty significant for a small council of our size that has limited resources and is very stretched.
5.59The Eyre Peninsula Local Government Association stated that in affected areas, particularly the southern and eastern coastline that ‘fishing and agriculture businesses have been temporarily shut down, and tourism operators have suffered both immediate and long-term cancellations’.
5.60The City of Victor Harbor outlined some significant disruptions, while acknowledging that the algal bloom coincided with a seasonal tourism downturn. For example, a major attraction, the Victor Harbor Horse Drawn Tram was suspended for several weeks ‘due to health concerns for the horses and staff from airborne particles’.
Impacts of the algal bloom on other businesses, including recreational fishers
5.61Local operators, including accommodation providers, dive operators and those in the recreational fishing industry, also described the financial and personal impacts of the algal bloom on their livelihoods and communities.
The recreational fishing industry
5.62The algal bloom has had far-reaching impacts for SA’s recreational fishing sector, with ecological damage to fish stocks and economic and social consequences for businesses and communities that rely on this activity.
5.63Mr Asher Dezsery, Chief Executive Officer of RecFish SA, a peak body for recreational fishers in SA, highlighted the economic contribution of the industry stating:
RecFish SA represent a billion-dollar industry with 360,000 participants every year. There is $380 million in recreational fishing tourism as well. But behind these numbers lies something a lot deeper. There's a real, shared relationship with nature and that's obviously now under threat.
5.64Local councils, including the Yorke Peninsula Council, the Alexandrina Council, and the City of Port Lincoln, outlined that the decline and loss of marine species had discouraged visitors to these communities and negatively affected recreational fishing and tourism activity.
5.65Mr Richard Carruthers, Acting Mayor of Yorke Peninsula Council, emphasised the central role of recreational fishing and crabbing to local economies and community identity:
Our council has taken this period, where there's no fish or crabs to be had, to do some repairs on our jetty. Unfortunately, the word around our town—specifically Ardrossan, where I live—is that, if this doesn't improve, our town will be a ghost town. There's no reason to come to Ardrossan. People generally come here to crab or fish.
5.66Mr Brad Martin from OzFish Unlimited, a recreational fishing conservation charity, told the committee that recreational fishers had experienced similar challenges to commercial operators due to the decline in key marine species. He observed that this had flow-on effects across related industries, such as bait suppliers and coastal tourism operators:
It's a very similar sentiment to the commercial fishers. We're seeing this change in the availability and movements of recreational species, and, therefore, that's also changing people's experiences of recreational fishing. You can go to jetties up along the coast at the moment, and most of them will probably have no one there. That's reflecting the fact that people don't want to go fishing, because there are all these concerns around whether there's fish available and whether it's worth the effort. That's applying not just to the metro coast but to regional coasts as well. We're seeing that short-term impact to recreational fishing and all the knock-on effects to the tackle industry and to tourism. But we also have these longer term concerns around the environment, because we know that to have healthy fish populations we need a healthy environment. We don't have that right now, so that's a big part of why OzFish really focuses on that fish habitat restoration work…
5.67Environmental organisations, including the Biodiversity Council, submitted that marine-based tourism and recreational fishing businesses were also suffering losses due to species mortality.
5.68Individual recreational fishers also outlined the personal and mental-health impacts due to the loss of recreational fishing activity. Mr Peter Meadows, a long-term Port Lincoln resident, described a sense of ‘doom and gloom’ among retirees who could no longer enjoy fishing.
5.69On 3 August 2025, the SA Government announced a series of measures to support recreational fishers and support the recovery of fish stocks. These include funding for a recreational fishing reef to support the survival and reproduction of key recreational species; opening more reservoirs to recreational fishing where consistent with public health advice; and supporting RecFish SA to deliver fishing events and competitions to boost participation.
Other operators, including charter companies and accommodation providers
5.70Divers for Climate described the impact of the algal bloom on its sector as ‘severe’ with some operators experiencing ‘deeply-felt economic consequences, with lost income and cancelled tours directly linked to the degraded marine environment’. It warned that if the algal bloom continues for twelve months, ‘there is a real chance that at least two operators will be forced to close’.
5.71Mr Andrew Wright of Calypso Star Charters, a charter company operating shark cage diving tours, likened the algal bloom’s impact to those of COVID-19 on the tourism industry:
I guess this algal bloom situation, to me, is probably just a repeat of the drama that the tourism industry faced through COVID—lots of things on lots of fronts attacking you. I suppose we ended up more resilient because of that, so this is just another hurdle in the road.
Yes, numbers absolutely are down. We've got data going back for 25 or 30 years of white sharks' visitations to the islands that we go to, and it shows a fair bit of variation. We've had bad patches in the past…
We've had cancellations and people saying, 'We're not coming. We're worried. We've got skin irritations. We don't want to go and swim with the sea lions.' But I think it's got worse since the media made a big song and dance about it…[O]once it started washing up on West Beach and it was very visible, that was when the media grabbed hold of it, ran with it and shouted it. That was probably the turning point, where we noticed the phone ringing and people concerned about it. It's not that we were hiding it before. We were fielding questions, but not nearly the volume we have had since then.
5.72Mr Josh Kirkman, Chief Executive Officer of Surfers for Climate, similarly highlighted the severe economic consequences for coastal communities:
The economic toll I witnessed was stark. Bait sales were down 80 per cent, surf camps shut and the national surf titles relocated. For small coastal businesses, when the sea turns toxic, livelihoods become terminal overnight.
5.73The committee also received evidence about the broader flow-on effects on hospitality, retail and other service industries. The Port Vincent Progress Association, a community organisation, reported widespread concern among its local business owners about declining turnover and reduced seasonal trade:
[S]he's [a business owner] had to let people go… they've reduced their hours of operation, and they've also had to change their supply chain. They couldn't take on local fish, because people weren't game to eat local fish. That's dollars to them. By the way, she's lost about 24 per cent turnover from the same time last year to this point in time. The IGA has reduced its opening hours because of the fluctuations in traffic. Similarly, they were going to hire people over the summer, but they're now going to sit on their hands and wait. Everyone is really concerned about the future, which is the message that's come through well here today. There's potential for a continued loss in turnover during the summer months.
5.74A seasonal accommodation provider on Kangaroo Island also reported that the bloom had created a ‘dire financial burden’:
The bloom has had—and will continue to have—a severe impact on seasonal accommodation businesses like ours. The ongoing presence and possible continuance of the bloom into the peak summer season presents a dire financial burden, threatening property maintenance and viability of eco-tourism-dependent enterprises'.
The role of industry support
5.75As set out in Chapter 3, a number of government measures are being provided to support businesses impacted by the algal bloom. These include:
grants of up to $10,000 for eligible small businesses and not-for-profit organisations in the marine industry whose revenue has been impacted as a result of the algal bloom;
grants of up to $100,000 to support eligible licence holders that have been unable to catch or harvest their typical volume of marine species, or have been unable to operate due to extended harvest closures;
access to free financial counselling, mental health support and workforce advice; and
waived fisheries and aquaculture license fees for the September quarter.
5.76As discussed in Chapter 3, to stimulate visits to coastal regions affected by the algal bloom, the SA Tourism Commission launched the Coast is Calling travel voucher program providing 20,000 vouchers for accommodation and experiences valued up to $500.
5.77Inquiry participants expressed support for the assistance provided by government. For example, the Chair of the SA Oysters Growers Association welcomed the government’s measures:
The state government announced, some weeks ago, relief for small businesses affected by the harmful algal bloom. That was up to an amount of $100,000 per business, and that's been very much appreciated.
5.78Similarly, the Chair of Seafood Industry South Australia acknowledged ‘the support provided by the SA and Commonwealth governments in the immediate response and our gratitude for that’.
5.79Individual commercial fishers also welcomed the financial support. For example, Mr Butson, Owner, B and M Butson Fisheries, stated:
I'm very grateful that the government has put some support programs there. Without that, there would be even greater hardship for the fishers.
5.80While acknowledging this support, several concerns were raised about the eligibility criteria, the difficulty in accessing support, and the adequacy of financial support available.
Eligibility barriers
5.81Some submitters indicated that they were ineligible for the small business grant as they were unable to demonstrate a 30 per cent decline in turnover, particularly businesses in the tourism sector which operate seasonally.
5.82Divers for Climate, for example, reported that none of its seven dive operators in SA had received financial assistance despite experiencing financial hardship due to lost revenue. It explained that four of its operators were unable to satisfy the 30 per cent decline in turnover requirement because of the seasonal nature of dive tourism, while another operator anticipated meeting the threshold only after the eligibility period had closed.
5.83An accommodation provider cited its difficulty in demonstrating a 30 per cent decrease in turnover as its bank’s statements included deposits for future bookings:
Despite having seen a significant decrease in accommodation bookings in the months April to July 2025, we are not currently an eligible small business due to the criteria requiring a downturn in income as evidenced by bank statements. Our bank statements include deposits for future bookings such that, despite actual turnover for nights stayed being more than a 30% decrease, as we hold amounts for future bookings - some of which might very well cancel - our losses, which may be very significant, are not eligible. Therefore, the current support package does not support many small businesses such as our own. Whilst we have committed to an active marketing program with significant expenditure, the downside is that there may be no future benefit whatsoever, should the bloom persist.'
5.84Mayor Geoff Churchett of the Eyre Peninsula Local Government Association, told the committee that fishers in Streaky Bay were unable to qualify for financial assistance because they were still catching fish, but unable to sell it:
One other issue that's been reported from over in Streaky Bay is that they're catching plenty of fish, as I said, so that excludes them from the criteria of getting the government grants. They're catching the fish, so they don't qualify, but they just can't sell it. I think the criteria of those grants have got to be looked at as well, for those people that are impacted in different ways.
5.85The Eyre Peninsula Local Government Association recommended greater discretion in assessing applications, noting that the current criteria ‘could potentially exclude businesses that have experienced cumulative distress, reputational loss, or partial closures and therefore remain vulnerable’.
5.86Some submitters also reported that several operators had not applied for financial assistance, as they did not consider they would qualify for the grants. Tourism Industry Council Australia reported that 85 per cent of respondents to its survey had not applied for a grant as they did not consider themselves eligible.
5.87Similarly, the Chair of Fleurieu Peninsula Tourism outlined the findings from its business survey across its membership:
We only received 27 responses, which is an interesting insight into how people are feeling at the moment. People tend to fill out surveys when they feel confident and happy. In this case, of those 27 surveys, basically only five people thought they were going to get an algae business grant, and the rest thought they wouldn't achieve the requirements. So the money that has been offered is only assisting a very small number of businesses at this point.
5.88Secondary businesses, such as gift shops that experienced significant downturns in revenue but were not directly involved in fishing or tourism, also reported that they were not eligible for financial assistance. Mayor Amanda Wilson of Holdfast Bay highlighted the exclusion of indirectly impacted businesses, such as coffee shops and restaurants:
… [w]hen you've got the whole esplanade not being walked on, you've got all of the coffee shops, all of the restaurants—we've got 330 small businesses just in the Jetty Road Glenelg precinct who are dependent on that walking-by traffic every single morning. They're just not there anymore. They are the people that are going to require assistance going forward.
… They need to show that they've had a loss for three months in a row. They can only access $10,000. I don't think that, if they are coffee shops are on Jetty Road, they can apply.
5.89Other submitters, including Yumbah Aquaculture, outlined that the financial assistance had been ‘structured to favour small commercial fishers, recreational/tourism businesses and biodiversity measures’ and that it was deemed ineligible due to the scale of its business.
Administrative burden in accessing assistance
5.90Several commercial fishermen raised concerns about the difficulty in accessing financial aid. Mr Ashley Perkins, while noting the improvements made by the SA Government, stated that ‘[f]unding for affected fishers and business has been slow and complicated’.
5.91Mr Nathan Eatts of Cape Calamari highlighted that while he has received some assistance, the process of navigating the eligibility criteria has been difficult and ‘[i]t’s just that ticking all the boxes to access it has been the challenging part’.
5.92Divers for Climate submitted that its operators consistently reported the schemes were ‘overly complex, administratively burdensome, and poorly adapted to the realities of running a small business’. The application process was described as ‘confusing, requiring operators to navigate dense eligibility criteria and unclear guidance’.
5.93The Yorke Peninsula Council also observed that it was assisting applicants with financial assistance processes, noting that 'people have found it very frustrating to access the state government assistance' and the ‘red tape seems to be horrendous for some people in small businesses’.
5.94The Port Vincent Progress Association also recommended that the SA Government could ‘review the complexity of the grant application’.
5.95The committee heard that SA Government representatives were encouraging businesses to apply for financial assistance even if they were uncertain about their eligibility. In addition, the SA Government website states that businesses should apply, even if the business is not certain of its eligibility.
Adequacy of financial support
5.96Concerns were also raised about the adequacy of the financial assistance available, with many inquiry participants suggesting that the assistance did not reflect the extent of losses experienced by businesses.
5.97Tourism Industry Council South Australia (TiCSA) noted the disparity between the losses incurred by businesses and the assistance offered. For example, its survey of over 100 operators found ‘an average loss per business of $52,000 with 14 per cent experiencing losses of more than $100,000’. For businesses who have received it, that ‘$10,000 [is] purely for operations, purely to get their staff paid and bills paid through this time’.
5.98In a similar vein, Mr Matthew Hurley from Fleurieu Peninsula Tourism and an accommodation business owner outlined the inadequacy of the small business grant:
In summer, the real concern for us is, as I said, that we're normally banking a fund to let us survive the next winter over summer. The base operating cost for my business is about $10,000 a month. So that $10,000 pays base operating numbers for one month, not for five or six. That's the real issue.
5.99Several commercial fishers provided evidence to the committee that the grant amounts, while welcome, were not sufficient for long-term viability and that support was required beyond the immediate crisis.
5.100Mr Nathan Eatts, a commercial fisherman from Cape Calamari, described how the grant funding was immediately consumed by bills:
The tier 1 stuff that I have received has pretty much gone to bills. I haven't caught a squid since April. Those bills were piling up and they had to be paid, so most of that's gone. But we're definitely going to need something moving forward. I don't know what that looks like.
5.101He further outlined:
For the commercial guys—the tier 1—there's $25,000. That's the grant plus your license fee stuff back. But when we're talking $4,000 or $5,000 a quarter with electricity bills to run cool rooms, freezers and ice machines, and then you add your fuel on top of that, it soon adds up.
5.102The Mayor of the City of Port Lincoln expressed similar concerns about the adequacy of the small business grant given the scale of loss in revenue:
$10,000 really isn't enough. That's just nothing, really, when you think about the loss of revenue that these businesses might incur over that longer period of time. It's a difficult question to answer because I don't know what the answer is. How much is enough? How long is a piece of string? But it's not enough for some of these businesses to see out their livelihoods.
Access to ‘Coast is Calling’ tourism vouchers
5.103Inquiry participants welcomed the ‘Coast is Calling’ travel vouchers program, with several councils and businesses stating that they had registered for the program or had been accepted for the voucher program.
5.104The City of Port Lincoln and the Yorke Peninsula Council, for example, expressed their support for the voucher program and considered that it should continue.
5.105Mr Andrew Cameron, Chief Executive Officer, Yorke Peninsula Council confirmed that several of their caravan parks had successfully registered for the program:
The tourism commission have been extremely helpful and sympathetic to our cause. The voucher system—I think three or four of our parks have been successful in that. There was recently some television exposure as well, managed by the SATC [South Australian Tourism Commission]. We were very grateful for that.
5.106Mr Max Tooze from Neptune’s Surf Coaching stated that his business had been accepted for the voucher program which would be good for helping to bring bookings back.
5.107While the voucher program was well supported, some noted that the initiative had been introduced late:
On the positive side … things like the voucher scheme to promote tourism are very positive and very well received. It is very late in the piece. With our occupancy, our business has been down since March.
5.108Divers for Climate stated that awareness of the program was not universal, with only about half of its operators aware of the program, and only one was actively participating. Another dive operator described the scheme as ‘unworkable’ because the terms of use of the voucher meant they could not accept a booking for a dive experience that might be cancelled due to the presence of the algal bloom stating:
The risk of incurring costs, staff wages, travel costs etc outweighed the $100 voucher reward if we were unable to deliver the experience on the day due to the presence of algae, or even bad weather, and then not able to claim the voucher reward.
Changes made to the industry support measures
5.109On 19 August 2025, the SA Government announced changes to its business grants in response to industry consultation and feedback. These changes are intended to extend and expand the availability of business grants available and make financial assistance more accessible to a wider range of businesses.
5.110For both the small business grant and the fisheries and aquaculture assistance grant, these key changes included:
extending the application closing date from 12 September 2025 to 30 November 2025;
extending the period in which a business can demonstrate a decline in business turnover to any consecutive three-month period from 1 April 2025 to 31 October 2025;
extending the requirement to demonstrate a decline in catch harvest to any consecutive three-month period from 1 April 2025 to 31 October 2025;
reducing the requirement to demonstrate a minimum business turnover from $100,000 to $75,000.
5.111In addition to these and other changes to the grant programs, fishing licensing fees were waived for both the June and September quarters, with these fees to be reviewed on a quarter-by-quarter basis.
5.112An additional $160,000 will also be invested in the Stay A Float program to support the mental health and wellbeing of individuals within the seafood industry.
5.113As set out in Chapter 3, in October 2025 the SA and Commonwealth governments jointly announced the Algal Bloom Summer Plan including additional investment in the fishing and marine sector.
5.114At a public hearing, representatives of the SA Government outlined the progress and take-up of these measures. Mr Chris Beattie, SA Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC), stated that ‘significant progress’ had been made including the release of ‘$1.4 million in fee relief, which has been granted to impacted businesses through a range of business support programs’:
What I would say is that significant progress has been made across a number of our programs—small-business grants, for example. We've had 35 of those approved and 20 are under assessment. For fee relief for our licence holders—fisheries and aquaculture—there have been 27 impacted licence holders who have had fee relief approved and a number—21-odd applications—are still pending…
We've recently extended contracts with respect to the Stay Afloat mental health program. Our rural business support programs are assisting 13 businesses with financial counselling. Our tourism voucher scheme is in flight, with 20,000 vouchers on offer, and that has been well oversubscribed by South Australians.
Of course, our media campaigns are in flight, with a $750,000 'buy SA seafood' campaign, which is in market; a $750,000 algal bloom public information campaign, which is also in market; and, of course, the 'Coast is Calling' tourism campaign, which has kicked off in support of this voucher scheme. So progress is tracking well.
5.115Several inquiry participants gave evidence that the SA Government's changes to the eligibility criteria was welcomed:
Following feedback through our association on the challenges some operators were having accessing financial assistance, we are pleased with the immediate responsiveness of the Government of South Australia, to improve the accessibility of financial assistance by streamlining the application process and adjusting the criteria to reflect the seasonality of some species.
5.116Similarly, Regional Development Australia Yorke and Mid North, a not-for-profit association funded by three levels of government, welcomed the recent changes to improve accessibility:
Support packages funded by Federal and State Governments are providing support to impacted businesses, with recent changes to eligibility and administration requirements improving the accessibility of these supports. This flexibility will continue to be needed going forwards, as conditions and circumstances continue to evolve over the coming months. This is evident in the prawn and crab fisheries based in Wallaroo and Port Broughton, which have not yet been impacted to the same extent as marine scale fishers, but may as fishing seasons move into their (traditional) peak periods.
5.117Several business operators also acknowledged recent improvements to the eligibility criteria and the waiver of fishing license fees. Mr Max Tooze of Neptune’s Surf Coaching, explained that while his business had not qualified initially, the recent changes had made him eligible:
I have to wait till the end of September. I didn't qualify, because I didn't make enough during that period last year earlier in the grant funding. But, now that they've expanded it, I'll be able to get that at the end of this month.
5.118A representative of Southern Rocklobster described his experience with having license fees for affected operators waived or refunded:
I've made an application through the association to PIRSA [Department of Primary Industries and Regions] for licence fee relief for the September quarter. I've got to say, PIRSA have been really helpful, and we're working on having licence fees for the September quarter waived or refunded, because the licence holders paid in advance.
5.119Several witnesses also expressed support for the continuation and expansion of mental health and well-being programs for affected fishers and their families. For example, the Mayor of City of Port Lincoln described the Stay Afloat program as a vital service for those working in the fishing industry and recommended that it should continue to receive funding:
We were heartened to hear that a program called Stay Afloat will continue to be funded. That was really heartening because that's particular to the fishery and crew people—the fisherpeople—so that's one good thing. But I think more can be done in that space, with more longer-term programs, because quite often the funding is not there and you don't know if you're going to get it. So any kind of permanency around that would be great.
5.120Similarly, the Southern Fishermen’s Association described the Stay Afloat program as a ‘really useful resource’ and welcomed the additional investment in the program.
5.121Some inquiry participants told the committee that changes to the industry support measures did not go far enough. For example, the Mayor of Port Lincoln outlined that the eligibility criteria and limited application window for small business grants failed to capture the full extent of the downturn:
… for small business, those grants of $10,000 are only available upon meeting the criterion of a three-month period that shows returns of revenue that are at least 30 per cent down from those of a similar period the year before. And the window is too small. That window is only open until the end of November, I believe, which was extended from an earlier, shorter period. I think that we won't see some of those impacts until maybe even this time next year, because people are selling frozen stock, depending on what kind of business they're in. If you're in that market seafood business, you might be having frozen stock for sale now, but that's depleting the stocks that you might have used in the off season. So it's distorted revenue. I think those impacts are going to be longer term. The criteria should extend that grant period.
Proposals to support industry viability and recovery efforts
5.122A range of proposals were put forward to improve the viability and long-term resilience of marine industries and coastal communities affected by the harmful algal bloom. These suggestions ranged from immediate financial support for impacted businesses, to longer term measures focused on environmental management and sustainability.
5.123Mr Kyriakos Toumazos, Executive of the South Australian Northern Zone Rock Lobster Fishermen’s Association, told the committee:
While immediate state and federal response measures have been welcomed and appreciated, the focus was on urgent relief. The next phase for us is that we must secure the future of the South Australian seafood industry by ensuring that people's seafood businesses and processes are retained, regional economies and communities remain viable, consumer confidence and market demands are rebuilt, sustainability of fish stocks is protected and enhanced, and South Australia is prepared for any future events such as this.'
5.124Broadly, these proposals canvassed by industry representatives and other submitters included:
workforce retention and income support, including the introduction of a JobKeeper-style program;
measures to restore consumer confidence in SA seafood products; and
longer-term environmental management and planning to support recovery and the resilience of the industry.
Workforce retention and ongoing financial support
Calls for the continuation and expansion of financial assistance
5.125While the financial assistance provided to date was widely welcomed, many submitters argued that the financial assistance should be extended beyond the initial grant period to reflect the likely multi-year recovery process required following the algal bloom.
5.126TiCSA recommended that direct financial support for affected tourism businesses be expanded with further tranches of funding:
Expand direct financial support for impacted tourism businesses – building on initial emergency grants of up to $10,000 for impacted marine and coastal tourism operators to provide further tranches of funding with a broader definition of impacted businesses, higher funding amounts and continued support for the duration of the crisis, especially if it extends into traditional peak periods.
5.127Local government representatives, including the City of Port Lincoln, the Yorke Peninsula Council and the Eyre Peninsula Local Government Association, also called for financial assistance to be continued beyond the initial grant period.
5.128The City of Port Lincoln recommended that financial support be maintained into 2026, as the impacts of the algal bloom are likely to extend over successive summer seasons:
The HAB [harmful algal bloom] may continue to impact for at least the next 6 to 12 months, therefore a longer-term approach is required over summer and potentially the subsequent 2026 summer season (December 2026 onward).
It is important also to understand current and future relief measures need to be extended for areas as the HAB expands, for example the Spencer Gulf and in particular the area around Port Lincoln. The financial impacts of the HAB are likely to expand in coming months and therefore any relief programme needs to consider this and needs to be continuing not with strict cut offs for financial or other support.
5.129The Biodiversity Council considered that the scale of financial assistance offered to date was modest compared to the funding provided for other environmental disasters, such as the prevention of future fish kills in the Murray-Darling Basin, and investment in wildlife and habitat recovery following the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires. It noted that while grants provided some immediate relief, they were unlikely to ensure long-term viability for most operators:
Most businesses are eligible for grants of up to $10,000, with larger amounts of up to $100,000 available to the hardest-hit harvesters. These measures are welcome, yet they exclude employees of affected businesses who have lost their income. Beyond the immediate financial strain, the bloom is expected to generate medium- to long-term disruption across supply chains and workforce availability. Consequently, although government support may ease short-term pressures, the prospects for recovery remain uncertain.
A JobKeeper-style payment
5.130The concept of a JobKeeper-style income-subsidy program was identified by several submitters as a key mechanism to help businesses retain skilled staff and maintain workforce continuity during extended periods of disruption.
5.131Seafood Industry SA called for the establishment of a targeted JobKeeper-style program for the seafood industry:
[K]eeping skilled and experienced staff in our industry is going to be essential to our ability to recover from this event. With some operators already commencing layoffs, a small, sector-specific, JobKeeper-style program would be incredibly valuable for our industry to keep staff in the industry, connected to employers and supporting the regional communities that rely on the seafood industry.
5.132Divers for Climate similarly supported a JobKeeper-style payment as a necessary support for dive operators and their employees that ‘will sustain dive shops during prolonged algal bloom impacts and retain staff in the industry’.
5.133Commercial fishing representatives also expressed support for such a proposal. The South Australian Professional Fishers Association, in response to questions about a JobKeeper-style payment, stated that ‘anything that we can get to keep people in our industry and still focused on the skill set that they have would be a help’.
5.134Mr Nathan Eatts, a line fisherman operating as part of a business partnership, agreed that a JobKeeper-style model could provide critical support, noting that ‘it would have to tick all the boxes and go to business partners as well as employees’.
5.135The importance of retaining skilled workers was emphasised as critical across the commercial fishing, aquaculture, and tourism sectors. The Australian Southern Bluefin Tuna Industry Association highlighted the importance of workforce retention, warning that if the industry were to cease operations for one or two years, ‘the social impact, the welfare needs and then all the negative things that happen in a community when your unemployment levels go up very rapidly’ would be significant.
5.136The Southern Fishermen’s Association also supported a JobKeeper-style scheme as a way to retain the industry’s skill set:
That is where I think there is some value in something like JobKeeper, to keep skills within the industry. It can add some value as this rides out…
[y]ou get to a point eventually where—how long do you keep that going? And that's the unknown in relation to what's happening with the bloom at the moment.
Other measures, including an industry co-ordinator for the algal bloom
5.137Inquiry participants proposed a range of complementary measures to help maintain business viability and workforce stability, including:
financial assistance to maintain accreditation and membership requirements during periods of lost income;
business and financial counselling and advisory programs to assist with income diversification and strengthening business resilience;
initiatives to support the upskilling and retraining of employees, including career transition support.
5.138A central industry co-ordinator for the algal bloom crisis was also proposed by several inquiry participants. Industry representatives, including Seafood Industry South Australia and the South Australian Sardine Industry Association, recommended the appointment of an industry-based coordinator to provide guidance, coordination and direct support across sectors.
5.139Ms Claire Webber, representing the South Australian Sardine Industry Association, told the committee:
It would be really helpful to have a HAB [harmful algal bloom] coordinator for industry that is working for the Seafood Industry SA body, which is funded for a minimum of 12 months or two years, so that we have a central point of contact that we can go to and that that person has access to all the people within the government, science and laboratories to address specific industry issues as they arise.
5.140Seafood Industry South Australia also called for additional funding to support the engagement of an algal bloom project manager within its organisation.
5.141Local government representatives, including the Yorke Peninsula Council, similarly recommended funding for a ‘dedicated Algal Bloom Response Officer’ to ‘coordinate local recovery and stakeholder engagement’.
Measures to restore consumer confidence
5.142Several submitters recommended measures to rebuild consumer and market confidence in SA seafood products, both domestically and internationally, to support recovery across the seafood and tourism sectors.
5.143Safcol Australia called for strong public messaging to communicate that ‘fresh fish caught in South Australian waters are 100 per cent safe to eat’. It also suggested a follow-up campaign to ‘win back consumer trust in SA caught fresh fish’ once the algal bloom had subsided.
5.144Seafood Industry South Australia also supported longer-term strategies to sustain and drive consumer demand, including an associated digital campaign to ‘drive a growth in long-term demand’. It also recommended measures to support market access, including ‘advocacy, international promotions, trade shows or networks’ to support re-entry into any lost export markets.
5.145The City of Port Lincoln, as part of a broader national response to the algal bloom, suggested a national communications plan to protect the reputation of seafood and tourism, urging governments to ‘fund rapid deployment of consumer confidence campaigns led by trusted science and industry voices’.
5.146The Australian Southern Bluefin Tuna Industry Association recommended the establishment of a government-led communication framework to support responsible media reporting, ‘including guidance for describing environmental events in a manner that avoids undue market alarm.’
Sustainability of fish stocks and longer-term fisheries management
5.147The committee also heard evidence about the potential long-term effects of the algal bloom on the sustainability of SA’s fish stocks. Industry representatives, commercial fishers and scientists emphasised the urgent need for various protective measures to ensure the recovery of populations of affected marine species.
5.148As outlined earlier in this chapter, several commercial fishers called for immediate closures to allow fish populations to recover.
5.149Some industry representative groups also agreed that protecting breeding stock was critical to restoring ecosystem health.
5.150Submitters outlined various measures to guide long-term recovery and future resilience. These included comprehensive fish stock assessments, flexible quota management and the potential for license buybacks and exit packages.
Comprehensive stock assessments
5.151The Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) is supporting the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) and PIRSA in conducting rapid assessments to estimate available biomass and determine the sustainable harvest potential of remaining stocks.
5.152Commercial fishers and researchers called for urgent and comprehensive evaluation of both marine ecosystems and fish stocks to enable government to make informed decisions on how fisheries are managed.
5.153Some submitters emphasised that funding for stock assessment must be maintained on a continuous basis. One commercial fisher noted that funding was only allocated until December 2025, recommending that data collection ‘must continue until things return to normal, not just for a three-month block.’
5.154As set out in Chapter 4, several witnesses also recommended the establishment of a centralised, coordinated data and monitoring system to benchmark the condition of SA’s marine ecosystems. This would support evidence-based management and allow industry and government to plan future recovery efforts.
Other proposed measures
5.155Other proposed measures that were raised during the inquiry included:
allowing flexibility in harvest quotas or caps between different areas while maintaining sustainability;
changes to fisheries policies to safeguard future stocks, such as lowering bag limits, and introducing maximum-size limits (alongside existing minimum sizes) to protect breeding stock;
structural adjustments to reduce overall fishing capacity, such as temporary quota leasing arrangements or voluntary licence buyback schemes to assist the retirement of fishers and reduce pressure on depleted stocks.
Next chapter
5.156Chapter 6 considers the evidence received about the health impacts of the harmful algal bloom.