SA Government fishing licence fee relief package amid algal bloom crisis slammed as ‘cop out’ as commercial fishers reel

South Australian fisherman have been offered $500,000 worth of fee relief amid the ongoing crisis, but some say the government deal “means nothing”.  

South Australian fishermen will be granted relief against rising fishing license fees amid the state’s algal bloom crisis, but the offer is being called a drop in the ocean by the battered industry.

The Malinauskas Government has announced a $500,000 relief package to compensate three months worth of licence fees for commercial fishermen affected by the algal bloom.

The package — which waives fees from April to June 2025 — will affect licence costs for fishers around the Gulf St Vincent, Kangaroo Island and the Yorke Peninsula.

Additionally, licence holders will be eligible for rural support grants up to $1,500 to help cover other household expenses.

“We will continue to work with the fishing and tourism industries to support them through this difficult time and continue to look at research and recovery investment options,” Minister for Climate, Environment and Water Susan Close said.

Some commercial fishermen, however, say they don’t believe the fee relief scratches the surface.

Michael Pennington, 39, an Ardrossan-based line fisherman who says he’s been unable to catch any squid for the past four weeks said the initiative was “a cop-out”.

“That is nothing. To be honest that won’t cover one per cent of what needs to help fishermen whatsoever,” he said.

Dead turtle found washed up along the shores of Gulf St Vincent. Picture: Michael Pennington

Fisherman Michael Pennington spotted a dead John Dory, a rare catch in SA usually found in Kangaroo Island, along the beaches of Tiddy Widdy on Thursday, 3rd July. Picture: Michael Pennington

Even if the bloom subsides in the next 12 to 18 months, Mr Pennington predicts it will take four to five years for the squid population to recover.

“The last time I went out and tried to catch any squid, I did 42 kilometres along the coastline and never caught one squid,” he said.

“The water smells, it’s dark, stagnant, and the bottom’s deteriorating rapidly,“ he said.

Mr Pennington urges for assistance beyond licence fee alleviation.

“There should be more relief to how people are meant to survive without going to work, as well as license fees,” he said.

“Like you’ve got no work whatsoever, so where’s the income come (sic) from? That’s the thing that we’re looking for.

Hugh Bailey wants fairer management in place for commercial fishermen who are forking out for licence fees with fewer fish left to catch in the waters. Picture: Brett Hartwig

Hugh Bailey, 70, a fisherman from Wangary, said commercial fishers need fairer management amid the decreasing fish stocks.

“It’s grossly unfair that just the commercial fishermen pay the almost entire bill for managing the fishery,” he said.

“The worst part is that the fish stocks are declining because there’s no management on how much is caught.

“Some fishermen I’ve known since my teens are really struggling. This bloom is just the latest blow in a long line of problems.”

Opposition primary industries spokeswoman Nicola Centofanti said while fee relief is welcome, it is “far from sufficient” and should extend beyond June 2025.

“This environmental crisis has severely impacted the livelihoods of licence holders, and we believe fee relief must extend to quota fees as well,” she said.

It comes as fish mortality rates rise, as more dead marine life washes up on SA shores.

As of 9am on July 8, there had been 8,987 observations of deceased marine life reported on iNaturalist in 2025, spread across an estimated 400 species.

The Southern Fiddler Ray had the most observations, with 1,365, followed by the Port Jackson shark with 407.

Dr Mike Bossley said the recorded observations were likely a small fraction of the total fish killed.

“I’m sure there’s a huge amount more than that,” Dr Bossley told The Advertiser.

“Just a few observations that divers have made at various places on the bottom have shown that the creatures down on the bottom of the ocean have been just all wiped out.”

“There’s a huge amount of area that divers haven’t had a chance to look at yet, so we assume that it’s all bad.”

The exact number of marine life impacted by the bloom may never be known, but Dr Bossley estimated it could be much higher than the known numbers.

“I would imagine it’s in the hundreds of thousands,” he said.

Originally published as SA Government fishing licence fee relief package amid algal bloom crisis slammed as ‘cop out’ as commercial fishers reel