Rays and sharks washed up on Kangaroo Island linked to algal bloom
About a dozen rays and sharks were found dead on Emu Bay this week. (Supplied: Roanna Horbelt/RAD KI)
In short:
The SA government says several rays and sharks washed ashore on Kangaroo Island is a result of the algal bloom that has devastated the state since March.
Low to zero algae levels were recorded in metropolitan waters but two regional sites showed elevated cell counts.
What's next?
The government says while they are "cautiously optimistic", there would be "no popping of the champagne prematurely".
The deaths of several rays and sharks found along a regional South Australian beach have been linked to the algal bloom, the government confirms.
During the SA government's weekly algal bloom update on Wednesday, task force head Mike Steer said while they were "cautiously optimistic" about metropolitan beaches, the area around Kangaroo Island was being "actively watched".
Latest testing found elevated levels of the algae, Karenia species, at Emu Bay Jetty on the north-eastern side of Kangaroo Island.
"Kangaroo Island particularly Emu Bay there are also reports of rays and sharks washing up as a result of that bloom activity," Professor Steer said.
A dead fiddler ray washed up at Kangaroo Island's Emu Bay. (Supplied: Roanna Horbelt/RAD KI)
Research and Discovery Coastal Tours on Kangaroo Island earlier today shared photos on social media of 12 rays and sharks that washed ashore on Emu Bay.
Tour operator Roanna Horbelt told ABC Radio Adelaide on Tuesday she was doing water testing with the Fisheries officers at Emu Bay where the algae levels remained "quite high".
"Seven huge smooth rays washed up, we also found a metre-and-a-half-long shark, Port Jackson sharks, three fiddler rays — all with that typical pink belly and definitely bloom-related," she said.
"But to the unknown eye, you walk along the beach and it looks beautiful but we're sadly getting these [creatures] washed up very similar to the very beginning of the bloom.
"We were seeing in early March the same kind of species washed up, these really large rays, they're very old and one was well over a metre long, very sad to see."
The SA government says the recent deaths at Emu Bay were a result of the algal bloom. (Supplied: Roanna Horbelt/RAD KI)
Ms Horbelt said the environment department was notified about a young male humpback whale washed up near American River on Kangaroo Island on the weekend but she did not think the death was bloom-related because population numbers have "gone through the roof".
Algae footprint reduced
Professor Steer said that although "we are seeing positive signs along the metropolitan coast", there would be "no popping of the champagne prematurely".
"We can see those cell counts along the 21 [metropolitan] sites are low to zero," he said.
"We've seen about a 50 per cent reduction [of cell counts on the northern metropolitan coast].
"[The] frequency and abundance of the fish that are washing up are also declining."
Photos emerged on social media of dead marine life at Emu Bay. (Supplied: Roanna Horbelt/RAD KI)
Professor Steer, who is also the executive director of SA Research and Development Institute, said there has also been reports of "bloom activity" near Whyalla on the northern Spencer Gulf.
"If we compare the size, the footprint of the bloom now to where it was say five, six weeks ago, it's considerably reduced," he said.