By Dr Joe Milton, the Australian Science Media Centre

As South Australia continues to grapple with a large-scale toxic algal bloom off its coastline, calls by ecological scientists, environmentalists, and community leaders to declare a national disaster in order to free up federal emergency funding, resources and long-term mitigation planning have been growing.

First detected in March, the bloom, caused by Karenia algal species, has now spread across several hundred square kilometres, reaching Adelaide's urban beaches.

Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt visited the most affected areas this week to assess the impacts and response efforts, but stopped short of declaring it a national disaster. Instead, the federal government has committed $14m in funding, which will be matched by the SA state government.

Professor Shauna Murray, from the University of Technology Sydney, who has studied algal blooms for 25 years, told the AusSMC she thinks a national disaster should be declared.

"[The bloom's] impacts are far larger and more broad‑ranging than any other harmful algal bloom that we have experienced in Australia. It has devastated an area of several hundred square kilometres of coastline since mid-March, and is now impacting Adelaide, a city of 1.5 million,” she said.

And the effects are not limited to environmental damage, she added: "It is now severely impacting fishing and aquaculture industries as well as tourism. We need regular monitoring and financial support for all affected."

That call was echoed by Dr Nina Wootton, a marine scientist at the University of Adelaide, who told the Centre that while no national disaster has been declared, "the scale is unprecedented for the region and demands national attention”.

“If this was happening in more populous areas," she said, "action would have already been taken to call this a national disaster.”

Dr Lucille Chapuis from La Trobe University agreed, describing the bloom as "an ecological disaster on par with bushfires and floods".

"Like a bushfire or floodwater, a toxic bloom can sweep through an ecosystem, and we must treat it with the same urgency."

Professor David Hamilton, Director of the Australian Rivers Institute at Griffith University, told the AusSMC that there are no quick fixes for the bloom and the damage it has caused, despite "enormous pressure" to provide one.

"The scale of the bloom presents enormous challenges for managing and controlling it," he said. "It is critical that whatever action is undertaken can be shown to be scalable and feasible before implementation."

Dr Christopher Keneally from The University of Adelaide said declaring a national disaster could unlock solutions in the form of "coordinated monitoring, emergency support for fisheries and wildlife rescue, and the rapid mobilisation of Australia’s research capability to forecast bloom trajectories and investigate potential mitigation tools such as nutrient-load reduction".

However, "long-term prevention requires tackling the drivers", he said.

So, what is driving the bloom? Dr Chapuis said climate change, warming waters and nutrient pollution all lie behind the catastrophe.

And Dr Wooton agreed it is likely the result of "unusually warm waters and calm conditions", creating "the perfect storm".

"This is climate change in real time," she said.

You can read the EXPERT REACTION in full here

This article originally appeared in Science Deadline, a weekly newsletter from the AusSMC. You are free to republish this story, in full, with appropriate credit.

Contact: Joseph Milton

Phone: +61 8 7120 8666

Email: info@smc.org.au