{"id":592130,"date":"2026-04-07T22:27:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T22:27:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/592130\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T22:27:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T22:27:18","slug":"sa-authorities-confirm-port-lincoln-tuna-deaths-not-caused-by-harmful-algal-bloom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/592130\/","title":{"rendered":"SA authorities confirm Port Lincoln tuna deaths not caused by harmful algal bloom"},"content":{"rendered":"

After reports of mass tuna deaths near Port Lincoln, scientists and the seafood industry have been quick to allay fears that the mortality event has any link to the state’s toxic algal bloom<\/a> or that locally caught produce is unsafe.<\/p>\n

The Australian Southern Bluefin Tuna Industry Association reported a significant number of tuna deaths in March when a tow cage carrying the fish passed through discoloured water south of Port Lincoln on the Eyre Peninsula.<\/p>\n

The number of deaths was estimated to be in the “low thousands”.<\/p>\n

It comes at a time of low demand for seafood from consumers concerned by the bloom<\/a>, as fishers demand protection for their stock,<\/a> as well as fuel supply disruptions, rising costs, and extreme weather events placing significant pressure on the industry.<\/p>\n

\"underwater<\/p>\n

The southern bluefin tuna industry in Port Lincoln is estimated to be worth upwards of $300 million. (Supplied: Al McGlashen)<\/p>\n

The recent Port Lincoln mortality event has stirred up those concerns and left some seafood producers nervous, despite findings from the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) that it was entirely unrelated to the harmful algal bloom.<\/p>\n

‘Not Karenia related’<\/p>\n

SARDI has identified the culprit as Viciciclus globosus, a naturally occurring phytoplankton that is “not Karenia bloom related”, executive director Mike Steer said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Mike Steer says the tuna mortality event is not related to the algal bloom. (ABC News: Daniel Taylor)<\/p>\n

“[It’s] very separate to the Karenia species, which everybody is aware of,” he said.<\/p>\n

“This looks like a different situation, not in line with the current harmful algal bloom and Karenia species, which is further up in the gulf.”<\/p>\n

Vicicitus globosus has been identified in South Australia before \u2014 Mr Steer said the last time it impacted the industry was “back in 1996” \u2014 and is a “feature of our marine ecosystem”.<\/p>\n

The fish mortality event happened offshore, where Mr Steer said regular seasonal upwellings<\/a> have brought new nutrients into the area, creating conditions conducive for the species’ short-term reproduction.<\/p>\n

SARDI teams have been sampling the water since and have identified isolated patches of the species in the Southern Spencer Gulf, meaning tuna off Port Lincoln is “not impacted”.<\/p>\n

The chief executive of the Southern Bluefin Tuna Association, Daniel Casement, said they would need to be wary of the phytoplankton.<\/p>\n

“Of course it’s a big worry; we have a strong production system that relies on the health of our fish, and anything that goes wrong, we don’t want to see it,” Mr Casement said.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

The Australian Southern Bluefin Tuna Industry Association is calling for more water monitoring after the deaths. (Supplied: ASBTIA)<\/p>\n

“We need to increase the water sampling and monitoring, and make sure [Vicicitus globosus] is not encroaching into the tuna zone or any other fisheries.”<\/p>\n

Oceanographic modelling indicates the phytoplankton will sit “relatively steady” in the area where it killed the fish, according to Mr Steer, and monitoring efforts will continue.<\/p>\n

Port Lincoln seafood still safe<\/p>\n

With this time of year traditionally one of the busiest for seafood consumption, particularly Easter, the sector, including advocacy body Seafood Industry Australia, made calls for consumers to support local businesses in a year of “more challenging than usual” circumstances.<\/p>\n

But despite those calls, some still struggled over the holiday, and cited the country-wide issues and the state-centred hurts of the algal bloom as the cause.<\/p>\n

Fresh Fish Place owner Craig McCathie’s business had a retail downturn of 12 per cent in the week leading up to Easter compared with last year.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Craig McCathie at his business in Port Lincoln. (ABC Eyre Peninsula: Duncan Bailey)<\/p>\n

“The data doesn’t lie,” Mr McCathie said.<\/p>\n

“When you think about it, it’s not surprising with the increase in price of petrol and diesel, and the perception of seafood created by the algal bloom over the past 12 months. People are still getting over that.<\/p>\n

“You’ve got that, as well as the price shock.”<\/p>\n

However, between July 2025 and March 2026, Mr McCathie’s business did have an increase in trade, which he attributed to the government’s algal bloom voucher scheme, which ended at the beginning of April.<\/p>\n

“There might be a link there,” he said.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, at Del Giorno’s Cafe in Port Lincoln, owner Kris Bunder was also mindful of the effect the bloom had had in the town \u2014 not in reality, but in awareness.<\/p>\n

“We haven’t seen the algal bloom affect us,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Kris Bunder says the algal bloom has not affected Port Lincoln or its seafood industry. (ABC Eyre Peninsula: Duncan Bailey)<\/p>\n

“Hopefully, we remain positive and we can keep getting that message out that South Australian seafood is very safe and, specifically, Port Lincoln and Eyre Peninsula seafood. It is safe. We wouldn’t put it on the menu if it wasn’t.”<\/p>\n

Southern bluefin tuna harvesting season began in Port Lincoln last week, and back at the Fresh Fish Place, despite the downturn, Mr McCathie was optimistic.<\/p>\n

“We just have to hope \u2014 well, not hope so much \u2014 but we just have to get through this,” he said.<\/p>\n

“And, in a year, think it will be a distant memory.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After reports of mass tuna deaths near Port Lincoln, scientists and the seafood industry have been quick to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":592131,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99,289079,289078,111305,179645,119862,289076,277375,289077,289080,289081],"class_list":["post-592130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business","tag-is-sa-fish-safe-to-eat","tag-is-tuna-safe-to-eat","tag-mike-steer","tag-port-lincoln","tag-sa-algal-bloom","tag-south-australian-research-and-development-institute","tag-tuna","tag-vicicitus-globosus","tag-what-caused-the-tuna-deaths-in-sa","tag-what-is-the-bloom-called"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=592130"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592130\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/592131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=592130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=592130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=592130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}