Fisherman's sad admission amid calls to declare natural disaster off Aussie coast

Yahoo

04-07-2025

An Aussie angler has made a difficult admission: he hasn't caught a single squid since April. Nathan Eatts, a sixth-generation commercial fisherman, is increasingly worried he'll be the last in his family to carry on the trade, because a toxic algal bloom is killing all the fish in waters around Adelaide.
'Fishing is all I've ever done, since I could walk. My dad was a commercial fisherman and he used to take me out as a kid. My grandpa and uncle did the same. It's in our blood,' the 32-year-old told Yahoo News.
A perfect storm has killed sharks, rays and other marine life across the Southern Fleurieu Peninsula where he's traditionally fished, and the squid have disappeared. The outbreak is being caused by naturally occurring Karenia mikimotoi algae mixed with higher than average nutrients in the sea, increased ocean temperatures, and calm weather.
It had been hoped that cooler weather during winter would break up the bloom, but instead it's continued to spread. The problem is occurring right across the Fleurieu and Yorke Peninsulas, Kangaroo Island, and this week it's been detected on metropolitan beaches and West Lakes in Adelaide's north.
Nathan is in a similar situation to farmers during the Millenium Drought which crippled agriculture across large parts of NSW and Queensland last decade. He's just trying to keep busy and carry on the only trade he knows.
'There are some species we can target like whiting, but we'll only get a dozen or so, which is not enough to make a living off,' he said.
'When it's a nice day and it's calm I go fishing. If we do catch a few that's good, and if we don't it's just like every other day. Worst case, I've got just enough for my own dinner.'
What Nathan wants now is to be part of the solution. He wants to know if all of the squid have died, or if they've migrated elsewhere.
"It's like a massive bushfire but it's under the ocean and we can't see the full scale of it," he said.
He's not the only one wanting to help. Fisherman are normally secretive about their catch, but now they're sharing intelligence with each other out of care for the industry.
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As the situation continues, there are growing calls for it to be declared a natural disaster. Part of the reason is that bills are stacking up, and that's an issue Nathan is experiencing as well.
'We have very high costs in our industry. I personally just got a $13,000 yearly bill from fisheries, but if I can't catch any fish how am I supposed to pay it?' he said. 'It's quite stressful, I've got a mortgage too.'
But the bigger issue for him is the environmental toll it's taking on the ocean he loves.
'A healthy marine ecosystem means a healthy, viable business. Sustainability is one of my key values, and it's why my family has been able to fish for six generations,' Nathan said.
'We don't use nets, everything we do is line caught. We're all about promoting longevity.'
Prior to the algal bloom, Nathan would catch between 20 and 30kg of squid on an average day. But after a four-day storm over Easter, the oceans died. The last squid he caught was on Good Friday.
'All of a sudden we couldn't catch a single thing. The water was all green. It was clear something was wrong,' he said.
Being a smart businessman, Nathan had prepared for a rainy day, and had a freezer full of filleted reserve stocks. But after months without a catch, he's close to running out of supply.
'There's no way of replenishing it. I'm not worried about right now, it's where we're going to be in three or four months time,' he said.
'That's when it's going to hit home for a lot of people. When bad things happen it's always down the track a little bit when the real pain starts.'
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