The South Australian government, along with federal counterparts, have joined forces to announce the world’s largest environmental market. Their mission is to save the world’s largest cuttlefish breeding aggregation from an emerging algae bloom. Deputy Premier Susan Close announced the installation of the bubble curtain next week. It will be located on the Cuttlefish Coast of the Eyre Peninsula, roughly 380 kilometers north-west of Adelaide. This creative undertaking is the result of a combined $700,000 investment by the provincial and federal governments.
The bubble curtain itself is 200 by 100 meters in size. It aims to conserve around 50,000–80,000 cuttlefish eggs and hatchlings per year in the Upper Spencer Gulf. The installation will form a barrier of bubbles by pumping air through submerged feeder lines from land-based generators. Through this innovation Based Conservation Inc. and the CDFW hope to provide the best chance at saving this important marine species.
A New Strategy for Cuttlefish Preservation
This use of a bubble curtain is a first for marine conservation efforts in South Australia. Deputy Premier Close underscored that the trial represents an important investment in the cuttlefish population’s future. He underscored the need for immediate action to fight these treacherous threats, like algal blooms.
“It hasn’t been done like this for this particular species before. But we have every reason to think that where we install it we will hold the algae back,” – Deputy Premier Susan Close
Close doubled down by stating that this trial is the last hope for marine life. In doing so, it benefits the whole South Australian community by supporting their physical and mental wellbeing. She said constant surveillance will be conducted to determine the flow of algae up and down the coast.
“We’ll be paying very careful attention obviously to the movement of the algae up the coastline,” – Deputy Premier Susan Close
The bubble curtain’s deployment is a small piece of a diverse strategy necessary to maintain the future health of our marine ecosystems. While the technology has been used mostly in aquaculture contexts, its use in this context has been relatively new.
Challenges and Future Considerations
Though the bubble curtain offers an encouraging remedy, the solution is limited by physical parameters. In addition, it must be deployed at a specific water depth. Further, it needs to be out of intense wave conditions, which makes large-scale implementation difficult as well. James Trezise, one of the marine specialists working on the project, explained that this technology is still very much experimental.
“This technology is really unknown, so it is an experiment,” – James Trezise
Trezise recognized that the bubble curtain’s deployment on such a grand scale is uncharted waters for researchers and environmentalists. While he is disappointed that this trial did not go forward, he is hopeful we might learn something from it to help protect marine habitats in the future.
“Hopefully there’ll be a lot of learning and insights that arise out of this,” – James Trezise
The integration of such technologies into conservation efforts highlights a proactive approach to dealing with algal blooms, which are becoming increasingly prevalent. Trezise reiterated that quick reactions are crucial for this type of work because these extreme events are likely to be an ongoing occurrence.
“We need to be able to respond quickly because we know now that algal blooms are here to stay,” – James Trezise
Community Impact and Economic Benefits
Beyond environmental impact, the bubble curtain project has economic promise to the local communities. Manny Katz emphasized that protecting the cuttlefish population could benefit both the environment and local businesses reliant on tourism associated with the cuttlefish industry.
“From a business point of view it’s great because so many Whyalla-based businesses benefit from the cuttlefish industry … from the tourism aspect,” – Manny Katz
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said he was hopeful that the bubble curtain would be effective in protecting cuttlefish eggs from algal blooms. He continued that although there are no guarantees to success, this initiative is a strong and concerted move towards maintaining our marine riches.
“There is not guaranteed success with this program but it gives us the best possible chance of being able to see to the preservation of cuttlefish eggs … in the event that the algal bloom does migrate towards the top of the Spencer Gulf,” – Peter Malinauskas
