Marine Harm

The deaths of large numbers of fish and other marine/estuarine life, including benthic invertebrates, have occurred in Australia due to blooms of several microalgal species. Sometimes this has occurred in aquaculture ponds or settings, while in other cases it is in bays or estuaries. In NSW, blooms linked to fish kills are a regular phenomenon, with ~20 such instances reported in NSW annually (author obs.) In some cases, the toxins involved in these events have been found and the toxic mechanism is well known. In other cases, the mechanisms of toxicity are less well known. The species that have caused large scale fish kills in Australia to date include;

• Amphidinium carterae

• Karlodinium veneficum

• Karenia mikimotoi

• Karenia umbella

• Takayama pulchella

• Chattonella marina

• Heterosigma akashiwo