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Algal Bloom Beach Witness Johanna Williams

Algal Bloom Beach Witness Johanna Williams

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 For months, as an algal bloom wreaked havoc on the South Australian coast, most residents steered clear but not Johanna Williams. She’s been down to Glenelg Beach daily, ruler and phone in hand, methodically tracking the carnage. What started as a small, concerned step by a self-described occupational therapist soon transformed into a citizen science project with over 10,000 observations of dead and dying marine life, offering a grim, close-up view of the ecological disaster. Johanna’s commitment, though personally confronting, gives scientists and the community essential data and a crucial human perspective. This episode does not feature the SA Drink of the Week segment. The show concludes with a Musical Pilgrimage that connects directly to the episode’s urgent environmental theme. We hear Steve Davis & The Virtualosos’ “While the Ocean Died,” a lyrical and sonic reflection on the collective pain and political complexities surrounding the algal bloom event. You can navigate episodes using chapter markers in your podcast app. Not a fan of one segment? You can click next to jump to the next chapter in the show. We’re here to serve! The Adelaide Show Podcast: Awarded Silver for Best Interview Podcast in Australia at the 2021 Australian Podcast Awards and named as Finalist for Best News and Current Affairs Podcast in the 2018 Australian Podcast Awards. And please consider becoming part of our podcast by joining our Inner Circle. It’s an email list. Join it and you might get an email on a Sunday or Monday seeking question ideas, guest ideas and requests for other bits of feedback about YOUR podcast, The Adelaide Show. Email us directly and we’ll add you to the list: podcast@theadelaideshow.com.au If you enjoy the show, please leave us a 5-star review in iTunes or other podcast sites, or buy some great merch from our Red Bubble store – The Adelaide Show Shop. We’d greatly appreciate it. And please talk about us and share our episodes on social media, it really helps build our community. Oh, and here’s our index of all episode in one concisepage. Running Sheet: Algal Bloom Beach Witness Johanna Williams 00:00:00 Intro Introduction 00:00:00 SA Drink Of The Week No SA Drink Of The Week this week. 00:02:55 Johanna Williams Arriving home from a holiday to find Glenelg Beach “covered in dead fish” , Johanna Williams had a choice: unpack and write an angry Facebook post, or take action. She chose the latter, inadvertently becoming one of the state’s most dedicated, non-professional "marine biologists". Initially hoping the algal bloom would be a “transient, short-term event,” the surreal extent of the death spurred her to use the citizen science platform iNaturalist to upload her observations, believing this crucial “coalface” data would reach qualified scientists and government bodies to “formulate responses”. Her daily 500-metre trek between Pier Street and the Jetty has revealed a tragic yet fascinating marine diversity. What she’s documenting—now over 10,000 observations—includes rare deep-sea fish like the long snout boar fish and warty prowl fish, species scientists rarely encounter alive. This wealth of data is heartbreakingly significant, as it allows researchers to collect, age, and perform genetic and toxicological testing on specimens that could never be found otherwise, highlighting the deep reach of the bloom into the ecosystem. The work is intensely confronting, involving more than just dead fish. Johanna describes a traumatic encounter with a still-alive, spiky globe fish whose eyes were “really gazing and tracking” her. This and finding a paralysed silver gull due to toxic effects highlight the profound emotional toll and moral dilemmas faced by citizen scientists, such as whether to “prolong its death by putting it back in the water”. Johanna discusses how a supportive network of friends and a new community, including people from the university, has helped her “channel that energy” and despair into empowerment and meaningful data collection. This environmental disaster also casts a shadow over the Glenelg foreshore, with Johanna noting a ripple effect of reduced foot traffic and the closure of local businesses, a “double whammy” alongside local tram disruptions. For listeners wanting to help, Johanna suggests starting with iNaturalist uploads, or connecting with projects like the SA Marine Mortality Project 2025 to assist with collecting fish for testing or contributing to local rehabilitation efforts, such as making oyster beds (wind chimes) to help filter the water. Great Southern Reef WebsiteMission: “Our mission is to inspire and empower society to protect and sustain Australia’s Great Southern Reef by promoting recognition, stewardship, and sustainable actions through impactful education, community engagement, and collaborative science.”Janine Baker OzFish Unlimited WebsiteDescription: OzFish Unlimited is a ...
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