South Australia has rolled out its most aggressive intervention yet in the year-long algal bloom saga, slapping a total closure on southern calamari catches across both Gulf St Vincent and Spencer Gulf from May 1, with tighter rules also applying to garfish and King George whiting. The move applies to recreational and commercial fishers alike.
In the same announcement, Premier Peter Malinauskas said the marine algal bloom that has decimated stocks since March 2025 was 'effectively clear' from almost all of the state's coastline.
"We've gone from collecting something like 9,500 kilos a week of dead marine life to now less than 50," the Premier said. "We are not seeing it arriving on our shores anything like what we saw at the height of the bloom, so now is the time of course to wind back those efforts."
Weekly water testing in metropolitan Adelaide and other locations will switch to monthly. Updates on the Beachsafe app and the algal bloom hotline will be scaled back. Beach signs will come down at any site that records four consecutive weeks of zero or low Karenia.
But Malinauskas said calamari numbers had collapsed to the point that a complete catch ban was the only responsible option.
"There is very little sign of calamari in either the Gulf of St Vincent or the Spencer Gulf," he said. "There have already been significant calamari closures but now they are being extended across both gulfs for recreational and commercial."
"There are no catches of calamari currently occurring, but there are some eggs being observed," Dezsery said. "We all have to come together as a community and make sure that we support these species as they recover, and I don't think we will hear many arguments over making sure that these fish bounce back as fast as possible."
For Port Lincoln-based commercial fisher Jarrod Day, the new rules cut hard but make sense.
"It's sort of hard to swallow, but the fact is the species needs to be looked after, and looked after sooner rather than later," Day said. He noted that recent trips were producing roughly 10 kilograms of calamari per session, against an average pre-bloom day closer to 50 kilos.
"Small quantities are getting caught at the moment. We are still catching, but very, very small amounts, not really what I'd call large commercial quantities," Day said. "The price has been quite good for calamari because of the lack of supply, but that doesn't necessarily make up for the lack of fish."
Gulf St Vincent fishers have been louder still. Ardrossan calamari operator Michael Pennington summed up the carnage in stark terms before Easter.
"All key species in Gulf St Vincent are near non-existent levels," Pennington said.
Mike Steer, executive director of the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), supported the wind-back of weekly monitoring but warned the recovery is far from finished.
"The job is not done," Professor Steer said. "We've learnt a lot over the past year and there's still some research gaps that need to be filled to ensure that South Australia remains prepared in case this flares up again."
Malinauskas was equally guarded. "Is it good news that the algal bloom is gone? Of course it is," he said. "The coast is effectively clear. The algal bloom has essentially cleared up and not been with us for a long time, but it's also true that it might come back, which is exactly why we've got to continue to invest in the monitoring and the research efforts."