Yorke Peninsula fishers and businesses say current government funding will not help solve algal crisis

Yorke Peninsula businesses warn the region faces a ‘ghost town’ future as the brutal impacts of SA’s toxic algae crisis continues.

Andrew Pisani at the Dalrymple Hotel in Stansbury SA. Picture: Ben Clark

Struggling Yorke Peninsula locals say a $28m federal and state funding package is “just a drop in the ocean”, calling for bolstered financial support for businesses already on their knees from the devastating algae bloom crippling the state.

Fishers and oyster farmers are demanding for red tape to be removed so they can access vital funds before it’s too late, with publicans and business owners urging South Aussies to visit their beloved communities to avoid them becoming a “ghost town”.

The State Government announced last week it would match the Commonwealth’s $14m funding to help tackle the toxic algae bloom outbreak, which has spread across SA since early March.

The joint $28m package will go towards clean ups, science and research and community support, with $10,000 grants available for affected businesses.

But fishers fear the funding is a “slap in the face” not just for Yorke Peninsula communities, but for regional businesses across the state doing it tough.

B.A. Fisheries owner Andrew Pisani, whose family has been catching fish off the coast of Stansbury since 1920, has lost more than $300,000 since the bloom swept across the Yorke Peninsula in March.

The devastating impact has hit home hard for the proud fisherman, having to let go of 11 staff members, most of whom are family and friends.

“They’ve been the toughest calls I’ve ever had to make,” he says.

“I’ve had to lay off friends, family, but I just can’t keep getting myself in the hole.

“There are no fish out there, it’s a desert out there and a ghost town here.

“The $10,000 won’t last my company for ten days, what I’m pouring into it is huge and it’s just impossible to survive on that.”

It’s a sentiment that’s echoed by Southern Yorke Oysters owner Paul Dee, who has only sold eight dozen oysters since his business was forced to close in May after toxins linked to the bloom were first detected.

Oyster Farmer, Paul Dee at the Dalrymple Hotel in Stansbury. Picture: Ben Clark

“We can sell up to 30,000 oysters, but we are in a stock stand still, where we can’t move oysters around the state,” he says.

“I can’t afford to buy what I want from the shops, I haven’t bought a carton of beer off the Stansbury pub for three months, we’ve all had to tighten our belts.”

It’s not just the seafood industry which has been decimated by the toxic bloom, with the Stansbury Caravan Park not securing a single booking in close to 90 days.

Dalrymple Hotel publican Rob Rankine has also been forced to cut back his staff hours and jump behind the bar himself just to cut costs.

“The caravan parks are empty, there’s no one at the boat ramp, we’ve seen a downturn in trade by 20 per cent” he said.

Dalrymple Hotel Publican Rob Rankine. Picture: Ben Clark

“We are a family-run business so I’m having to do more bar work than I would normally do, because paying someone to stand here when there’s no one in your bar seems a bit silly.

Their desperate calls for help came as Opposition Leader Vincent Tarzia called on the State Government to roll out a tourism voucher program – similar to the Great State Voucher scheme used during the Covid pandemic – to attract tourists to these struggling communities.

“The harmful algae bloom has decimated these coastal communities, so it’s been pretty clear today that much more has got to be done from a state and federal government point of view to recognise this as the natural environmental disaster that it is,” Mr Tarzia said.

Premier Peter Malinauskas is set to visit affected businesses Monday along the Yorke Peninsula, before Country Cabinet meets to discuss the toxic bloom.

Originally published as Yorke Peninsula fishers and businesses say current government funding will not help solve algal crisis