© 2021 Greek Community Tribune All Rights Reserved

Algal bloom positive signs ahead of Henley Greek Festival

January 2026 South Australian government officials say they have seen the “best signs” in a “long time” in the latest round of algal bloom monitoring. According to the ABC, Marine scientist Mike Steer confirmed on Thursday that the latest results were “fantastic timing” ahead of peak summer temperatures. ”If you go back to mid-October when we were experiencing cell counts in the millions and high levels of chlorophyll A. “The persistence of Karenia species and a whole heap of dead fish washing up — we’re very much in a different space now along the metropolitan coast.” Mr Steer said the latest results showed all 21 metropolitan testing sites recorded no or low levels of Karenia species. “There’s a couple of residual spots offshore that have elevated counts, but they seem to be relatively moderate,” Mr Steer said. Zero levels were recorded at nine metropolitan sites, including Port River St Kilda Boat Ramp, West Lakes Exit, Henley Beach Jetty, Glenelg Jetty and O’Sullivan Beach Boat Ramp. The remaining metropolitan sites recorded levels ranging from 100 to 6,000 cells per litre. Zero or low levels of Karenia were also detected across Eyre Peninsula, Yorke Peninsula and the Fleurieu Peninsula. Mr Steer said elevated levels were however detected at one regional site — Emu Bay Jetty on Kangaroo Island — which will continue to be monitored by authorities. Professor Steer said there had been a decrease in the number of fish kills reported. “We’re starting to see a decrease particularly in the last week or so, you will recall we had a whole heap of Leatherjackets dominate a couple of weeks ago,” Mr Steer said. “We’re not seeing that consistently happening — so, there’s another good sign.” The marine scientist added that authorities were starting to see Karenia species being overtaken by other species. “The ones that we would expect that are there in natural numbers are the diatoms that are starting to have a more prominent role in our ecosystem — which indicates that it’s rebalancing,” Mr Steer said. When asked whether swimmers should be concerned swimming at beaches in the warmer weather Mr Steer said, “perfectly clear, they should not be worried”.
Greek Tribune Adelaide, South Australia
© 2021 Greek Community Tribune All Rights Reserved

Algal bloom positive signs ahead of Henley

Greek Festival

January 2026 South Australian government officials say they have seen the “best signs” in a “long time” in the latest round of algal bloom monitoring. According to the ABC, Marine scientist Mike Steer confirmed on Thursday that the latest results were “fantastic timing” ahead of peak summer temperatures. ”If you go back to mid-October when we were experiencing cell counts in the millions and high levels of chlorophyll A. “The persistence of Karenia species and a whole heap of dead fish washing up — we’re very much in a different space now along the metropolitan coast.” Mr Steer said the latest results showed all 21 metropolitan testing sites recorded no or low levels of Karenia species. “There’s a couple of residual spots offshore that have elevated counts, but they seem to be relatively moderate,” Mr Steer said. Zero levels were recorded at nine metropolitan sites, including Port River St Kilda Boat Ramp, West Lakes Exit, Henley Beach Jetty, Glenelg Jetty and O’Sullivan Beach Boat Ramp. The remaining metropolitan sites recorded levels ranging from 100 to 6,000 cells per litre. Zero or low levels of Karenia were also detected across Eyre Peninsula, Yorke Peninsula and the Fleurieu Peninsula. Mr Steer said elevated levels were however detected at one regional site — Emu Bay Jetty on Kangaroo Island — which will continue to be monitored by authorities. Professor Steer said there had been a decrease in the number of fish kills reported. “We’re starting to see a decrease particularly in the last week or so, you will recall we had a whole heap of Leatherjackets dominate a couple of weeks ago,” Mr Steer said. “We’re not seeing that consistently happening — so, there’s another good sign.” The marine scientist added that authorities were starting to see Karenia species being overtaken by other species. “The ones that we would expect that are there in natural numbers are the diatoms that are starting to have a more prominent role in our ecosystem — which indicates that it’s rebalancing,” Mr Steer said. When asked whether swimmers should be concerned swimming at beaches in the warmer weather Mr Steer said, “perfectly clear, they should not be worried”.
Greek Tribune Adelaide, South Australia