CANBERRA, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Marine experts and conservationists have called for the Australian government to urgently respond to an ongoing toxic algal bloom off the country's southern coast.
The outbreak of the toxic algae species Karenia mikimotoi was first detected off the coast of the state of South Australia (SA) in March amid a marine heatwave.
In the months since it was identified, the bloom has spread and caused the deaths of thousands of marine creatures, including sharks, penguins and rays.
Underwater footage captured by local divers and published by News Corp Australia newspapers on Friday showed that the toxic algae has caused a mass mortality event for fish, coral and seagrass.
In a post on social media on Tuesday, diver Carl Charter from the SA branch of NGO the Conservation Council said he found a large dolphin washed up dead on a beach in Marino, in the southern suburbs of the state capital of Adelaide.
He said that urgent and coordinated action from the state and federal governments is needed to fund long-term science-led monitoring of the bloom and to provide support to those impacted by the marine devastation.
"This is no longer a quiet tragedy, it's a national disaster," he said.
Sarah Hanson-Young, a federal senator for the Greens Party from SA, on Wednesday called for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Environment Minister Murray Watt to take action.
She said that it is "astonishing" that the federal government is bidding to host the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Adelaide in 2026 at the same time that it is failing to deal with the environmental catastrophe.
"This toxic algae bloom is a national disaster, and it requires a national response," Hanson-Young said.
Authorities in SA have said that nothing can be done to dilute or dissipate the algal bloom and that it will likely persist until environmental conditions change.
Mark Butler, Australia's Health Minister and a member of Albanese's cabinet, told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio on Thursday that the scale of the toxic outbreak is something that has never been seen before in Australia.
He said that the government has deployed the head of the federal Oceans Division to SA to join state government monitoring efforts and try to get a better understanding of the outbreak. ■
