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South Australian seafood workers sidelined by the harmful algal bloom are being redeployed to clean local beaches, as a parliamentary inquiry investigates the crisis

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A new Australian and New Zealand Marine Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Network has been established to strengthen collaboration and information sharing on harmful algal blooms across the region.

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A new study warns that climate change will worsen risks for fishers, from harsher storms and extreme heat to longer, more exhausting trips at sea. Combined with weak labor protections and forced labor risks, these pressures could deepen inequities across global fisheries. The authors call for urgent cross-sector policy action to protect workers’ safety, wellbeing, and rights.

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Fish farms may hold untapped potential in the fight against climate change. New research suggests that iron enrichment in aquaculture could neutralize toxic gases while capturing millions of tons of CO₂ each year, offering farmers both environmental and economic benefits.

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Queensland’s oyster industry, long challenged by disease and climate pressures, is being revitalised through a bold aquaculture project. Researchers are trialling two native tropical species – the Blacklip Rock Oyster and the newly named Queensland Sunshine Oyster – which show strong resistance to QX disease, faster growth rates, and greater climate tolerance than Sydney Rock Oysters. With hatchery challenges overcome and early results from growers looking promising, these tropical oysters could reshape the future of farming along Queensland’s coast.

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South Australia is battling a massive harmful algal bloom driven by climate change, nutrient runoff, and habitat loss. While large-scale fixes are unfeasible, restoring oyster reefs and seagrass meadows – nature’s “kidneys and immune system” – offers hope for long-term resilience.

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Western Australia has experienced its most severe marine heatwave on record, causing widespread coral bleaching and death across iconic reefs like Ningaloo, Rowley Shoals, and the Kimberley, with heat stress far exceeding bleaching thresholds. Scientists warn recovery will be challenging without urgent climate action as global ocean temperatures continue to rise.

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Australia has an opportunity to use marine heatwave forecasting to develop rapid responses to biological disruptions.

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Over 120 experts met in Perth for WA’s first Marine Heatwave Symposium, held during National Science Week, to address the State’s most severe marine heatwave, which caused widespread coral bleaching and mortality. The event focused on sharing research, improving understanding, and guiding future monitoring and recovery efforts.

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A harmful algal bloom in South Australia has killed marine life, damaged the economy, and made beaches unsafe, cutting communities off from “blue spaces” that support physical and mental wellbeing. The crisis has also sparked citizen science, wildlife rescues, and advocacy for stronger environmental protection.