Commercial fisherman Bart Butson first noticed signs of the harmful algal bloom near the head of the Gulf St Vincent in Port Wakefield back in early June, following a significant storm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“We went out onto the sea, and it was a different colour \u2014 it was a horrible greeny, grey colour,” Mr Butson said.<\/p>\n
“There was hundreds and hundreds of dead cuttlefish floating on top of the water.<\/p>\n
“It was from that moment that I thought to myself, ‘Oh my goodness, we’re all in a bit of trouble here.'”<\/p>\n
Mr Butson said within two weeks of the weather event, calamari had virtually disappeared from the waters.<\/p>\n
“The catches dropped rapidly within a two-to-three-week period, and we haven’t seen the calamari for 10 weeks,” he said.<\/p>\n
“It’s like they never existed.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mr Butson gave evidence to a Senate inquiry into the algal bloom in Ardrossan.\u00a0 (ABC News: Viki Ntafillis)<\/p>\n
Mr Butson outlined his concerns at a public hearing to a federal Senate inquiry on Thursday, describing how the “destructive algal bloom crisis” had left him uncertain about his future.<\/p>\n
He said he believed, in order to aid the recovery of fish stocks and ensure the viability of the sector, the commercial industry had to stop fishing in the Gulf St Vincent.<\/p>\n
“We need to be supported until the fish stocks return, so we will need financial assistance,” he said.<\/p>\n
“It’s my personal opinion that the fishermen stop fishing.”<\/p>\n
Across the other side of the gulf in Ardrossan, commercial fisher Michael Pennington wants authorities to go one step further, by banning fishing in both the state’s Gulf St Vincent as well as the Spencer Gulf.<\/p>\n
“I know in [the Gulf St Vincent], the crabs, the squid, the garfish are at near non-existent levels,” Mr Pennington said.<\/p>\n
“They could be the last stocks that we have for breeding.<\/p>\n
“We’ve got the blueprint that’s happening in Gulf St Vincent, we’ve seen everything that’s happened now, and I feel we should have both gulfs shut to manage and look after our fish stocks.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mr Pennington says he hasn’t been able to work for three months.\u00a0 (ABC News: Viki Ntafillis)<\/p>\n
Mr Pennington said the depleted fish stocks had now left him without work for three months, and that he believed there were roughly 40 other commercial fishers in a similar situation.<\/p>\n
“The whole of Gulf St Vincent, for the commercial sector \u2014 there’s no fish coming out now whatsoever, so there’s no-one fishing,” he said.<\/p>\n
“This could be years or decades for sustainable fishing, it’s pretty devastating.<\/p>\n
“It’s hard. I’ve got two kids and a wife. It puts a lot of pressure, a lot of strain.”<\/p>\n
Mr Pennington said although state government grants had now become available, the sector found accessing financial support difficult because of the “hoops you’ve got to jump through”.<\/p>\n
“There’s a bit of support out there now \u2014 that comes and goes, as soon as you’ve got it, it’s gone,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“It’s hard to have a lot of faith in it, we got told a lot of things.”<\/p>\n
Authorities assessing stocks<\/p>\n
Deputy Premier Susan Close said the Department of Primary Industries was undertaking work to understand fish stocks in South Australian waters, and would provide advice “in due course” should there be any changes.<\/p>\n
“But currently none are contemplated, and the reason for that is that it’s not clear that any of the fish that are regularly fished, either recreationally or commercially, have seen a diminution in their species count as opposed to in particular locations,” she said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ms Close says work is being carried out to assess fish stocks.\u00a0 (ABC News)<\/p>\n
South Australian Research and Development Institute executive director Mike Steer said teams had been on the water over the past couple of weeks assessing stock levels, which would then be compared against the baseline.<\/p>\n
“As those data come out and we can identify whether there have been changes or trends associated with the harmful algal bloom, then we’ll provide that level of information to the managers to make an informed decision,” Professor Steer said.<\/p>\n