Bloomin’ Toxic
Surfers noticed it in February 2025: water discolouration, scum and smell, masses of dead sea creatures. The cause — a toxic bloom, an explosive proliferation of several species of the oceanic dinoflagellate Karenia. The result: millions of marine deaths, unsafe seafood and respiratory and neurological issues for humans and animals. If this happened at Bondi Beach in Sydney, it would dominate news cycles. But the ongoing catastrophe in pristine sea country—gulfs, islands, peninsulas and metropolitan beaches of South Australia—has been largely invisible in national media.
