September 18, 2025 • 15 mins
What started as a troubling environmental event has now escalated into a full-blown Senate inquiry, and today we bring you to the heart of that process - the public hearings.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
It was a pretty busy week last week with the
four public hearings across South Australia. We were in Sea
Cliffs and then we went to Port Lincoln to speak
to a number of affected fishing communities and the local
community up there, and then we went across to Drossen
where arguably it's been the hardest hit in terms of
the marine life and the impact on the local fishing
(00:25):
and tourism industries, and then down to Victor where, of
course this whole bloom started that now infamous story of
the surfer out of Parsons Beach and became thick, covered
in rashes and not feeling very well and thinking there
was something pretty toxic in the water, tried to alert
authorities and law and behold, we've kind of worked out
(00:45):
that this is a pretty toxic algae.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Essay's Toxic algal bloom has sparked alarm across ecosystems, industries
and households for around eight months now, and what started
as a troubling environmental event has now escalated into a
full blown Senator inquiry, with fishermen, scientists and local residents
all stepping forward to be heard. Hi, I'm Jackie limb
with iHeart essay, and today we bring you the heart
(01:09):
of that process. The public hearings. You hear directly from
people who have testified, those pushing for accountability, and those
simply trying to survive the consequences. Green Senator Sarah Hanson
Young shared the hearings across the state last week, and
our reporter Chris Guscott spoke to her about the common
threads for residents and businesses all over the state.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
In terms of what we heard, the first thing is
just how underprepared we've been, both at a state level
but also at a national level for a disaster like this,
despite the scientists warning us for quite some time now
that the oceans were warming because of climate change, not
really understanding exactly what that would mean in terms of
(01:50):
these kind of devastating impacts, and the government just has
not been funding the research and the monitoring properly, so
we don't even have the baseline data to to compare
a lot of these things too. There's a lot of
catch up to be done, and then that's in the
midst of this catastrophe unfolding. The biggest takeaway for me
is just how much more investment we need in dealing
(02:13):
with this in the immediate term because people are really hurting,
and the money that's been put on the table, particularly
from the federal government, I mean, fourteen million dollars doesn't
touch the sides of the economic and the social impact
this is having. But in the medium and long term
this is going to be the impacts are going to
be felt for for a long time to come, and
we need a huge investment in our environmental restoration and
(02:38):
rebuilding our coastal and marine habitats if we're going to
give our fishing industry, or our tourism industry or mother
nature a chance.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
So within that you speak about under preparation and there
is an anticipation, of course we're going to cross our
fingers and toasts this doesn't happen, but there's an anticipation
that something of this scale may end up happening sooner
rather than later. So are you confident then, with what
has been found and all of the information passed on
that we have everything we need to make the right
decisions to potentially mitigate the impact next time round.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
I think we've got some of the information that we
need to start putting in place mitigation measures and start
helping our environment become more resilient and be more resilient
to these types of huge environmental catastrophe. But to be honest,
there's a lot we still don't know because there has
been such underinvestment in the monitoring, the science and the research,
(03:30):
and we need much more. And one of the alarming
things was discovered throughout this hearing was that they only
started testing for toxic and harmful brevitoxins two weeks ago
in the water itself. So you know, obviously brevitoxins the test.
It's for oysters and shellfish before they can go to market.
That's a safety precaution that's happened for a long time
(03:53):
for decades. But despite brevitoxin's being detected in the shellfish,
which is why a number of our oyst growers have
had to be closed, they weren't testing for these types
of harmful toxins in the water and the fone that's
been washing up on our coastline, particularly in the more
metropolitan areas. So that was quite shocking to find out.
(04:14):
And if we're only testing for these things as of
recently the last two or three weeks, what other things have.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
We not found and finally within that too, you've mentioned
the communities the impact that that's had on them. I
know that this varies case by case and different areas
of South Australia have been more impacted than others, But
how do you see some of the worst effect of
communities positions going forward for maybe the next six to
twelve months as they try to immediately recover.
Speaker 4 (04:40):
From this look.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
I think it's very hard for many of the areas
that have been hit the hardest, and I would say
your Peninsula as an example. I think they're really going
to struggle for at least the next twelve months, if
not longer, and we need much more government support because
of that. And tourism visitation numbers are down for example,
but you know this is winter and numbers are always down,
(05:03):
but they're even down on the winter figures. But the
impact of those figures being down over summer will be
hugely damaging given that's when most of these businesses make
the money. But then you know you carry that cash
flow over through the quieter times in winter. So if
we don't get the numbers back in summer, it's going
(05:25):
to be very very hard for these businesses to survive.
For the next through the next twelve months and longer.
I think there are things that can be done to
help encourage people to get out to our regions. There's
obviously lots of beautiful places to visit that don't necessarily
include just always being on the water. But also I
think this is where the research and the monitoring comes in.
The bloom isn't everywhere all of the time, and while
(05:48):
the experts and the scientists are telling us we need
to be prepared for this bloom being around over summer
because the water will is just going to keep getting warmer.
It's not going to be everywhere all the time, but
we need to know where there it is so that
people can make those decisions. If it's not down at
Victor Harbor, but it's around the corner, go to Victor
Harbor and you avoid around the corner for that week
(06:08):
and then be able to move. I think we need
much more information flowing so that people can get back
out and experience our beautiful state.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
We'll have more coming up after the break.
Speaker 5 (06:19):
My heart, Esso, My heart, esso.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Welcome back. Today. We're recapping all the testimonies and details
uncovered during last week's Toxic algal bloom public hearings. We
just heard from the Chair of the Senate Inquiry, Sarah
Hanson Young, who offered some insight into what the hearings
have found so far. Now we're turning to those living
through the impact on the ground. Kou Wrong Mayor Paul
Simmons attended the Victor Harbor hearing and was also one
(06:46):
of a delegation of mayor's who traveled to Canberra a
few weeks ago. Our journalist in the Murraylands, Jenny Lenman,
spoke to mister Simmons about the community concerns and environmental
uncertainty for the beloved wetland area since the bloom was
detected in June.
Speaker 5 (07:00):
Well, there's always some risks of algle blooms in the
Kuong and even in Lake Alexandrina. We're obviously monitoring it
and the government's monitoring it, but at this stage it's
a reletably low risk. But probably the bigger issue is
the perception that fish that are fished from our lakes,
and we've got a large group of fishermen based in
Meningi generally that their fish aren't as safe. That's not true.
(07:22):
If the fish are available for market, they're safe to eat.
There is some effects we think on lack of fish
in terms of birdlock. Anecdotally people think that because there's
probably less fish, there's less feed, and there's less birds.
It's very hard to prove, but people love to watch
the birds.
Speaker 6 (07:39):
In the spirit of the coup wrong set on Friday
at the Senate inquiry, negative perceptions are hurting trade despite
safe operations continuing. So that's to your point, isn't it.
Speaker 5 (07:50):
Yeah, that's the issue. So it's safe to travel on
the water, it's safe for all those things. It's an
excellent brochure and I'm sure on the government website around
our will bloom. But at the end of the day,
perception is a reality for some people. But I'd encourage
people to still come and visit.
Speaker 6 (08:05):
And quite sad to hear from a major operator down
there ku wrong wild seafood about as you say, there's
plenty of fish to catch and Essay Health says they
are safe. You know, the commercially caught ones, or if
you catch them yourself, just make sure they're being gutted.
You can eat them. But consumers aren't buying the product,
says Tracy Hill.
Speaker 5 (08:22):
Yes, and Tracy and Glenn Boath spoke of Monday night
at the alble Bloom presentation, which was attended by lots
of state representatives, including the Deputy Premier at Meningi. And
that's the hard part of this is not only is
there less fish to catch, but there's a perception that
people don't buy fish, as a double whammy for our fishermen.
Speaker 6 (08:40):
Any other thoughts from the Monday public information session in Meningi.
Speaker 5 (08:44):
I think we just got to continue monitoring at this stage.
I mean, this is a compounding effect for my region now,
the able bloom and those risks alongside, particularly the northern
part of the council is still in a semi drought
to a drought. And I also mentioned the effects on
our beekeepers with this incursion into South Australia with that might.
So we feel like we're a bit under siege at
(09:04):
the moment in the agricultural production part of our businesses.
Speaker 6 (09:07):
Now the state government starting an inquiry following the Senate
inquiry which finished on Friday. You've been a part of
this too, haven't you. You've been in a delegation with
the government.
Speaker 5 (09:17):
I you went with a delegation to Canberra two weeks
ago with the seven mayors are acting mayors with some
side of some industry represented it we met wide support
from South Australian politicians of all colors, but we also
met several minutes. Is up to the Prime Minister to
make them aware of the issue. Probably be fair to
say we need some more deep understanding of what's actually
(09:37):
happening in the marine environment in Southern Australia. And I
spoke the comparison has made with how much we know
about the Great Barrier Reef compared how much we probably
don't know about the Great Southern Reef. And so that
was the purpose is to raise awareness in Camber and
we wills and too Bover do.
Speaker 6 (09:52):
You think that our governments are doing enough to support
our industries and support the region.
Speaker 5 (09:57):
It's very hard for government to assist of individual sub
sector businesses. And I know there's been calls for a
form of what was job keeper for people affected by
the algill bloom and that will probably be hard to
do from the federal government sense. And we can draw
an allergies here with the drought requite honest and how
support for rural land based producers perhaps hasn't been in
(10:18):
the same vein. So it's always a challenge when it
affects certain little sectors of our community, particularly tourism, business
and that which is hard to see where the drop
off has come in there turnover.
Speaker 6 (10:29):
Mayor Paul Simmons, what do you love? Just lastly, what
do you love about the kup wrong? What do you
love about Meningi in the region? What do you think
people should come and check out?
Speaker 5 (10:38):
It's an untamed wilderness. You just want to get away.
There's lots of Airbnb and those style of accommodations in
the Greater Meningi area. Just come and visit, and of
course in my region too. You if you don't like that,
you can go to the motorsport Park laying on Creek. Widely,
we've got excellent things to visit in the upper southeast
or the southern Malee And as.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Senator Sarah Hanson Young said earlier, might be the worst
affected area, and that certainly rings true. In this next chat,
mart Budson's a third generation commercial fisherman based in Port Wakefield,
and I spoke to him about his submission to the
inquiry and heard some more about how his livelihood has
been thrown into chaos.
Speaker 4 (11:15):
The zero wood coming in. We have a squid quota
of about one hundred and forty seven tons and we've
caught twenty four elos.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
Wow, so yeah, that's just way below where you guys
would normally be.
Speaker 4 (11:30):
Yeah, normally we'd probably have about twenty tons of kalamari
or squid at this time. And yeah, that's the worst hit.
Speak is the garfish and whiting aren't much better, but
the squid is definitely the worst.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
As far as being out on the water, do you
still get out there? And have you seen the changes
firsthand yourself?
Speaker 4 (11:46):
So we tried to fish for a while, but as
it become worse, it was just enough fish to commercially fish.
So there we go out for a look. And I
was out this morning and the water is the worst
I've seen it, disparagingly, a thorough brown beer colored. And
then and I didn't see a fish.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
And you're a third generation fisher yourself, So have you
or have you ever heard of anything like this in
the past.
Speaker 4 (12:10):
This is like a nightmare. I could never have pictured
anything like this.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Yeah, So what are the financial impacts been for you guys?
Speaker 4 (12:18):
Well, it was quite good fishing up until there was
no fishing, so we're just living on savings at the moment.
At the time that we think we qualify, we've been
apply for some government assistant to help get us through
this very difficult time.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
You made a submission to the Senate inquiry. What were
the main points that you raised in.
Speaker 4 (12:34):
That related to the Senators that the situation is very
real and very bad and the fishing fleet want to
contribute in any way that we can to make this
better as quickly as we can, and one of those
things is to participate with some research so we could
transition from commercially fishing to research data collection, so the
fishes would really be keen to help in any way
(12:55):
we can.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
And it gets you back out there doing something instead
of twiddling your thumbs.
Speaker 4 (12:59):
I suppose absolutely, we've just miss being on the water.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
Do you feel that your voice and the voices of
other fishes for that matter, are being heard or do
you feel a little bit kind of cast off?
Speaker 4 (13:10):
No, I think we are being heard. It's just my
personal opinion. I think that this is such a big
issue and we're all pulling in the same direction. The
people that walk their dogs in the beach, the fishermen
the people that own shops on your pincher. We all
have one common problem and we all are looking forward
to the end of it.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
You've also recommended that the golf be closed to fishing
for the feeable future. So obviously the terrible stuff that
you're seeing day on day but led you to that conclusion.
But what would be your suggestion for how to proceed
with that?
Speaker 4 (13:40):
It was just my own personal idea and from a
couple of the other professional fishes, and it was to
close the professional fishing, not all fishing or not all
beach hues, just close it to the professional fishes catching
their quota, just until the fish can start to recover,
just to give the fish that little extra help. And
it's an idea. I'm hoping that it's some consideration, but
(14:01):
I'm not a decision maker. I'd just say that from
my personal experience.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
What do you hope comes out of the Senate inquiry?
Do we need more funding put towards this? Do we
need more testing capabilities? What can we actually do that
is getting this solved?
Speaker 4 (14:15):
Well? I think we need all of what you just
spoke of. I think we need a coordinated government approach
between the state and federal government, and I desperately hope
that with this Senate inquiry that it can persuade the
federal government to really come in and just give our
communities some guidance and some direction through this very dark time.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
As far as the future goes, then commercial fishing in
the area obviously, fingers and toes from everyone crossed. If
things are managed properly and you know the weather, subsides
and whatnot, do you see things getting back on track.
Speaker 4 (14:47):
Well, we've been told by some scientists that when the
algaequit is that the fish can recover quickly, So there's
some lot of into the tunnel for the fishmen. I
certainly need to cling onto that, so I hope that's
how it works.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
That's it for this week, and just a quick reminder
for anyone wanting to go and visit these troubled regions
the coasters calling vouchers are now open with the ballot
closing ten pm Monday. Don't forget you can hear iHeart
Essay and the iHeart app or wherever you get your podcasts.
I'm Jackie Limb. Join us again next week for more
of the stories you want to hear iHeart Essay, the
(15:20):
voice of South Australia.
Speaker 5 (15:21):
iHeart Essay,
It was a pretty busy week last week with the
four public hearings across South Australia. We were in Sea
Cliffs and then we went to Port Lincoln to speak
to a number of affected fishing communities and the local
community up there, and then we went across to Drossen
where arguably it's been the hardest hit in terms of
the marine life and the impact on the local fishing
(00:25):
and tourism industries, and then down to Victor where, of
course this whole bloom started that now infamous story of
the surfer out of Parsons Beach and became thick, covered
in rashes and not feeling very well and thinking there
was something pretty toxic in the water, tried to alert
authorities and law and behold, we've kind of worked out
(00:45):
that this is a pretty toxic algae.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Essay's Toxic algal bloom has sparked alarm across ecosystems, industries
and households for around eight months now, and what started
as a troubling environmental event has now escalated into a
full blown Senator inquiry, with fishermen, scientists and local residents
all stepping forward to be heard. Hi, I'm Jackie limb
with iHeart essay, and today we bring you the heart
(01:09):
of that process. The public hearings. You hear directly from
people who have testified, those pushing for accountability, and those
simply trying to survive the consequences. Green Senator Sarah Hanson
Young shared the hearings across the state last week, and
our reporter Chris Guscott spoke to her about the common
threads for residents and businesses all over the state.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
In terms of what we heard, the first thing is
just how underprepared we've been, both at a state level
but also at a national level for a disaster like this,
despite the scientists warning us for quite some time now
that the oceans were warming because of climate change, not
really understanding exactly what that would mean in terms of
(01:50):
these kind of devastating impacts, and the government just has
not been funding the research and the monitoring properly, so
we don't even have the baseline data to to compare
a lot of these things too. There's a lot of
catch up to be done, and then that's in the
midst of this catastrophe unfolding. The biggest takeaway for me
is just how much more investment we need in dealing
(02:13):
with this in the immediate term because people are really hurting,
and the money that's been put on the table, particularly
from the federal government, I mean, fourteen million dollars doesn't
touch the sides of the economic and the social impact
this is having. But in the medium and long term
this is going to be the impacts are going to
be felt for for a long time to come, and
we need a huge investment in our environmental restoration and
(02:38):
rebuilding our coastal and marine habitats if we're going to
give our fishing industry, or our tourism industry or mother
nature a chance.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
So within that you speak about under preparation and there
is an anticipation, of course we're going to cross our
fingers and toasts this doesn't happen, but there's an anticipation
that something of this scale may end up happening sooner
rather than later. So are you confident then, with what
has been found and all of the information passed on
that we have everything we need to make the right
decisions to potentially mitigate the impact next time round.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
I think we've got some of the information that we
need to start putting in place mitigation measures and start
helping our environment become more resilient and be more resilient
to these types of huge environmental catastrophe. But to be honest,
there's a lot we still don't know because there has
been such underinvestment in the monitoring, the science and the research,
(03:30):
and we need much more. And one of the alarming
things was discovered throughout this hearing was that they only
started testing for toxic and harmful brevitoxins two weeks ago
in the water itself. So you know, obviously brevitoxins the test.
It's for oysters and shellfish before they can go to market.
That's a safety precaution that's happened for a long time
(03:53):
for decades. But despite brevitoxin's being detected in the shellfish,
which is why a number of our oyst growers have
had to be closed, they weren't testing for these types
of harmful toxins in the water and the fone that's
been washing up on our coastline, particularly in the more
metropolitan areas. So that was quite shocking to find out.
(04:14):
And if we're only testing for these things as of
recently the last two or three weeks, what other things have.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
We not found and finally within that too, you've mentioned
the communities the impact that that's had on them. I
know that this varies case by case and different areas
of South Australia have been more impacted than others, But
how do you see some of the worst effect of
communities positions going forward for maybe the next six to
twelve months as they try to immediately recover.
Speaker 4 (04:40):
From this look.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
I think it's very hard for many of the areas
that have been hit the hardest, and I would say
your Peninsula as an example. I think they're really going
to struggle for at least the next twelve months, if
not longer, and we need much more government support because
of that. And tourism visitation numbers are down for example,
but you know this is winter and numbers are always down,
(05:03):
but they're even down on the winter figures. But the
impact of those figures being down over summer will be
hugely damaging given that's when most of these businesses make
the money. But then you know you carry that cash
flow over through the quieter times in winter. So if
we don't get the numbers back in summer, it's going
(05:25):
to be very very hard for these businesses to survive.
For the next through the next twelve months and longer.
I think there are things that can be done to
help encourage people to get out to our regions. There's
obviously lots of beautiful places to visit that don't necessarily
include just always being on the water. But also I
think this is where the research and the monitoring comes in.
The bloom isn't everywhere all of the time, and while
(05:48):
the experts and the scientists are telling us we need
to be prepared for this bloom being around over summer
because the water will is just going to keep getting warmer.
It's not going to be everywhere all the time, but
we need to know where there it is so that
people can make those decisions. If it's not down at
Victor Harbor, but it's around the corner, go to Victor
Harbor and you avoid around the corner for that week
(06:08):
and then be able to move. I think we need
much more information flowing so that people can get back
out and experience our beautiful state.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
We'll have more coming up after the break.
Speaker 5 (06:19):
My heart, Esso, My heart, esso.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Welcome back. Today. We're recapping all the testimonies and details
uncovered during last week's Toxic algal bloom public hearings. We
just heard from the Chair of the Senate Inquiry, Sarah
Hanson Young, who offered some insight into what the hearings
have found so far. Now we're turning to those living
through the impact on the ground. Kou Wrong Mayor Paul
Simmons attended the Victor Harbor hearing and was also one
(06:46):
of a delegation of mayor's who traveled to Canberra a
few weeks ago. Our journalist in the Murraylands, Jenny Lenman,
spoke to mister Simmons about the community concerns and environmental
uncertainty for the beloved wetland area since the bloom was
detected in June.
Speaker 5 (07:00):
Well, there's always some risks of algle blooms in the
Kuong and even in Lake Alexandrina. We're obviously monitoring it
and the government's monitoring it, but at this stage it's
a reletably low risk. But probably the bigger issue is
the perception that fish that are fished from our lakes,
and we've got a large group of fishermen based in
Meningi generally that their fish aren't as safe. That's not true.
(07:22):
If the fish are available for market, they're safe to eat.
There is some effects we think on lack of fish
in terms of birdlock. Anecdotally people think that because there's
probably less fish, there's less feed, and there's less birds.
It's very hard to prove, but people love to watch
the birds.
Speaker 6 (07:39):
In the spirit of the coup wrong set on Friday
at the Senate inquiry, negative perceptions are hurting trade despite
safe operations continuing. So that's to your point, isn't it.
Speaker 5 (07:50):
Yeah, that's the issue. So it's safe to travel on
the water, it's safe for all those things. It's an
excellent brochure and I'm sure on the government website around
our will bloom. But at the end of the day,
perception is a reality for some people. But I'd encourage
people to still come and visit.
Speaker 6 (08:05):
And quite sad to hear from a major operator down
there ku wrong wild seafood about as you say, there's
plenty of fish to catch and Essay Health says they
are safe. You know, the commercially caught ones, or if
you catch them yourself, just make sure they're being gutted.
You can eat them. But consumers aren't buying the product,
says Tracy Hill.
Speaker 5 (08:22):
Yes, and Tracy and Glenn Boath spoke of Monday night
at the alble Bloom presentation, which was attended by lots
of state representatives, including the Deputy Premier at Meningi. And
that's the hard part of this is not only is
there less fish to catch, but there's a perception that
people don't buy fish, as a double whammy for our fishermen.
Speaker 6 (08:40):
Any other thoughts from the Monday public information session in Meningi.
Speaker 5 (08:44):
I think we just got to continue monitoring at this stage.
I mean, this is a compounding effect for my region now,
the able bloom and those risks alongside, particularly the northern
part of the council is still in a semi drought
to a drought. And I also mentioned the effects on
our beekeepers with this incursion into South Australia with that might.
So we feel like we're a bit under siege at
(09:04):
the moment in the agricultural production part of our businesses.
Speaker 6 (09:07):
Now the state government starting an inquiry following the Senate
inquiry which finished on Friday. You've been a part of
this too, haven't you. You've been in a delegation with
the government.
Speaker 5 (09:17):
I you went with a delegation to Canberra two weeks
ago with the seven mayors are acting mayors with some
side of some industry represented it we met wide support
from South Australian politicians of all colors, but we also
met several minutes. Is up to the Prime Minister to
make them aware of the issue. Probably be fair to
say we need some more deep understanding of what's actually
(09:37):
happening in the marine environment in Southern Australia. And I
spoke the comparison has made with how much we know
about the Great Barrier Reef compared how much we probably
don't know about the Great Southern Reef. And so that
was the purpose is to raise awareness in Camber and
we wills and too Bover do.
Speaker 6 (09:52):
You think that our governments are doing enough to support
our industries and support the region.
Speaker 5 (09:57):
It's very hard for government to assist of individual sub
sector businesses. And I know there's been calls for a
form of what was job keeper for people affected by
the algill bloom and that will probably be hard to
do from the federal government sense. And we can draw
an allergies here with the drought requite honest and how
support for rural land based producers perhaps hasn't been in
(10:18):
the same vein. So it's always a challenge when it
affects certain little sectors of our community, particularly tourism, business
and that which is hard to see where the drop
off has come in there turnover.
Speaker 6 (10:29):
Mayor Paul Simmons, what do you love? Just lastly, what
do you love about the kup wrong? What do you
love about Meningi in the region? What do you think
people should come and check out?
Speaker 5 (10:38):
It's an untamed wilderness. You just want to get away.
There's lots of Airbnb and those style of accommodations in
the Greater Meningi area. Just come and visit, and of
course in my region too. You if you don't like that,
you can go to the motorsport Park laying on Creek. Widely,
we've got excellent things to visit in the upper southeast
or the southern Malee And as.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Senator Sarah Hanson Young said earlier, might be the worst
affected area, and that certainly rings true. In this next chat,
mart Budson's a third generation commercial fisherman based in Port Wakefield,
and I spoke to him about his submission to the
inquiry and heard some more about how his livelihood has
been thrown into chaos.
Speaker 4 (11:15):
The zero wood coming in. We have a squid quota
of about one hundred and forty seven tons and we've
caught twenty four elos.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
Wow, so yeah, that's just way below where you guys
would normally be.
Speaker 4 (11:30):
Yeah, normally we'd probably have about twenty tons of kalamari
or squid at this time. And yeah, that's the worst hit.
Speak is the garfish and whiting aren't much better, but
the squid is definitely the worst.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
As far as being out on the water, do you
still get out there? And have you seen the changes
firsthand yourself?
Speaker 4 (11:46):
So we tried to fish for a while, but as
it become worse, it was just enough fish to commercially fish.
So there we go out for a look. And I
was out this morning and the water is the worst
I've seen it, disparagingly, a thorough brown beer colored. And
then and I didn't see a fish.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
And you're a third generation fisher yourself, So have you
or have you ever heard of anything like this in
the past.
Speaker 4 (12:10):
This is like a nightmare. I could never have pictured
anything like this.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Yeah, So what are the financial impacts been for you guys?
Speaker 4 (12:18):
Well, it was quite good fishing up until there was
no fishing, so we're just living on savings at the moment.
At the time that we think we qualify, we've been
apply for some government assistant to help get us through
this very difficult time.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
You made a submission to the Senate inquiry. What were
the main points that you raised in.
Speaker 4 (12:34):
That related to the Senators that the situation is very
real and very bad and the fishing fleet want to
contribute in any way that we can to make this
better as quickly as we can, and one of those
things is to participate with some research so we could
transition from commercially fishing to research data collection, so the
fishes would really be keen to help in any way
(12:55):
we can.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
And it gets you back out there doing something instead
of twiddling your thumbs.
Speaker 4 (12:59):
I suppose absolutely, we've just miss being on the water.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
Do you feel that your voice and the voices of
other fishes for that matter, are being heard or do
you feel a little bit kind of cast off?
Speaker 4 (13:10):
No, I think we are being heard. It's just my
personal opinion. I think that this is such a big
issue and we're all pulling in the same direction. The
people that walk their dogs in the beach, the fishermen
the people that own shops on your pincher. We all
have one common problem and we all are looking forward
to the end of it.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
You've also recommended that the golf be closed to fishing
for the feeable future. So obviously the terrible stuff that
you're seeing day on day but led you to that conclusion.
But what would be your suggestion for how to proceed
with that?
Speaker 4 (13:40):
It was just my own personal idea and from a
couple of the other professional fishes, and it was to
close the professional fishing, not all fishing or not all
beach hues, just close it to the professional fishes catching
their quota, just until the fish can start to recover,
just to give the fish that little extra help. And
it's an idea. I'm hoping that it's some consideration, but
(14:01):
I'm not a decision maker. I'd just say that from
my personal experience.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
What do you hope comes out of the Senate inquiry?
Do we need more funding put towards this? Do we
need more testing capabilities? What can we actually do that
is getting this solved?
Speaker 4 (14:15):
Well? I think we need all of what you just
spoke of. I think we need a coordinated government approach
between the state and federal government, and I desperately hope
that with this Senate inquiry that it can persuade the
federal government to really come in and just give our
communities some guidance and some direction through this very dark time.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
As far as the future goes, then commercial fishing in
the area obviously, fingers and toes from everyone crossed. If
things are managed properly and you know the weather, subsides
and whatnot, do you see things getting back on track.
Speaker 4 (14:47):
Well, we've been told by some scientists that when the
algaequit is that the fish can recover quickly, So there's
some lot of into the tunnel for the fishmen. I
certainly need to cling onto that, so I hope that's
how it works.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
That's it for this week, and just a quick reminder
for anyone wanting to go and visit these troubled regions
the coasters calling vouchers are now open with the ballot
closing ten pm Monday. Don't forget you can hear iHeart
Essay and the iHeart app or wherever you get your podcasts.
I'm Jackie Limb. Join us again next week for more
of the stories you want to hear iHeart Essay, the
(15:20):
voice of South Australia.
Speaker 5 (15:21):
iHeart Essay,
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.