A toxic algae bloom in the waters off South Ballina Beach has prompted a warning from authorities against people harvesting and eating pipis.
Sampling of water by the commercial fishing industry has revealed that the algae bloom has shown high levels of potentially toxic species of algae and the presence of Diarrhetic Shellfish Toxin.
Based on this finding, the local commercial fishery for pipis and other shellfish harvested from the beach has been closed.
While toxin levels have not yet been established from shellfish at South Ballina Beach, it is a timely reminder for recreational fishers that these ongoing risks are the reason why the general recreational fishing closure for pipis is in place.
Pipis should not be taken by individuals for human consumption and should be used for bait only.
The Department of Primary Industries has reminded all fishers that a longstanding closure remained in place for recreational fishers taking pipis from beaches to eat or to remove them more than 50 metres from the high tide mark, right along the NSW coastline.
Algal blooms can occur anywhere along the coast and are normally the result of the upwelling of nutrient rich deep ocean water onto the continental shelf, and can often be seen after rainfall events in estuaries and in river mouths.
In just about 230 years we have polluted the ocean to our own detriment.
Just how did the nutrient-rich deep ocean water get there if the nutrients did not come from run-off from the land? This algal bloom is enough to make the Great Barrier Reef die laughing as to bloom it needs sunlight.