Fishing sector to have fees waived amid algal bloom 'uncertainty', which has now spread to Port River

Australia Broadcast Center

08-07-2025

South Australian commercial fishers can apply to have licence and other government fees waived if their catches have been impacted by the state's toxic algal bloom, which has now spread to the Port River.
Fishers have been calling on the state government for financial relief amid the ongoing Karenia mikimotoi outbreak, which Environment Minister Susan Close estimates has led to "tens of thousands, if not more, individual animals" washing up dead on the state's beaches.
Following talks with the commercial fishing industry, the state government today said affected fishers could apply for certain licence and audit fees to be waived from April to June as part of an initial $500,000 relief package.
That announcement coincided with the revelation that the most recent monitoring had detected the algae in the Port River.
"The latest results of that monitoring are that indeed, as expected, Karenia mikimotoi has appeared in the Port River and is at reasonably high concentrations around Garden Island and Outer Harbor," Ms Close said.
She said while the concentration there was "nothing near like" what was detected at the beginning of the bloom "when we had a massive form of algae that was around the size of Kangaroo Island", it was important that the algae's spread remained under observation.
"The testing that is occurring from Port Noarlunga all the way up to Outer Harbor is going to be really useful for us to track not only where it is but its concentration," she said.
In a statement, the National Parks and Wildlife Service SA said dolphins in the sanctuary were "not believed to be at immediate risk" and the department would continue to monitor water quality.
The government said the bloom was having a "devastating" impact on parts of the commercial fishing sector, and acknowledged catches had declined in Gulf St Vincent, and around Kangaroo Island and Yorke Peninsula.
It said commercial fishers could be eligible to have fees — including PIRSA Fisheries and Aquaculture annual licence fees, and Biosecurity SA Food Safety Scheme and audit fees — waived.
"The fishing sector is really reeling because of the uncertainty," Primary Industries Minister Clare Scriven said.
"We can provide up to $500,000 in fee relief for affected commercial fishers — so this means that those who haven't been able to fish or who have been out fishing incurring costs but not catching anything will be able to have their fees waived.
"That will happen in retrospect for the last quarter, so they can either take that as a credit going forward or they can take that as a refund which may well help with cashflow, which is so important to a lot of small businesses."
Ms Scriven urged licence holders to work with their industry associations to apply for the fee relief.
"What we'll need to see is that there's been a drop in their fishing. We have catch figures from previous years and then their catch records from this year, so that will be one of the items that will feed into that," she said.
"Fees are a significant part of their operating costs — there are of course more, some of which are within government but most of which are not. We'll continue to work with them to look at what is the most appropriate type of assistance."
Ms Scriven said that both she and Ms Close were "keen that this [algal bloom] has national recognition".
Yesterday, the Greens called on the federal government to declare the algal outbreak a national disaster.
Ms Close today said she had this morning spoken to federal Environment Minister Murray Watt about that very issue, and about securing support.
"What I've been talking to the Minister about at the Commonwealth level is that we will ask for some assistance with the recovery stage," Ms Close said.
"There's a question about the extent to which it's possible to declare it a national disaster on the basis of the definitions that they use.
"We're in conversation with them at the bureaucratic level just about whether that needs to be adjusted, recognising that an algal bloom has not previously had such an impact before, whether it's time to update that list."
The South Australian Professional Fishers Association welcomed the waiving of fees, but also indicated that the need for support was likely to grow with the passage of time.
"We haven't seen the worst of this disaster yet," chairperson Ben Barnes said.
"[For] the fishers in this time of need, it'll be much appreciated and we hope to move forward and keep this rolling, because the devastation to the commercial sector is absolutely unreal.