Mysterious foam washes up on Waitpinga Beach with reports of fish deaths and surfers falling ill
By Thomas Kelsall
By Caroline Horn
Topic:Fish
11m ago11 minutes agoMon 17 Mar 2025 at 5:38am
A large build up on cloud like foam on a beach.
Hundreds of metres of foam has been found along Waitpinga Beach, where South Australia's primary industries department is investigating reports of a "fish mortality event". (ABC News: Caroline Horn)
In short:
A mysterious foam has washed up on a beach on SA's Fleurieu Peninsula.
Surfers who visited over the weekend have reported coughing, sore throats and blurred vision.
What's next?
SA's primary industries department is investigating reports of a "fish mortality event", after dozens of dead fish and seadragons were found along the shore.
An investigation is underway into fish deaths and a mysterious foam on a South Australian beach, with several people reportedly falling ill after visiting the area.
The discoloured foam stretches for hundreds of metres along Waitpinga Beach, around 15 kilometres south-west of Victor Habor, with local beachgoers reporting cold and flu symptoms after visiting at the weekend.
Dozens of dead fish and leafy seadragons can also be seen on the beach, with some visitors reporting a visible “slick” on the water.
A light blue fish washed up on brown sand
A dead fish washed up on Waitpinga Beach. (ABC News: Caroline Horn)
The Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA) has confirmed it is investigating whether a “fish mortality event” occurred at Waitpinga.
“PIRSA's role in this type of incident is to investigate the cause of the fish kill to rule out infectious and notifiable animal diseases, establish the cause and coordinate a response where necessary,” a PIRSA spokesperson said.
“Fish kill events can be brought on by a variety of causes including environmental factors such as temperature, rainfall (or lack of) and water quality including salinity or oxygen levels, or by disease or pollutants.”
PIRSA urged anyone who has noticed something unusual involving dead or dying fish to call FISHWATCH on 1800 065 522.
The foam has also been reported at nearby Parsons Beach as well as Kings Beach and Petrel Cove near Victor Harbor.
A white foam stains a brown sandy beach
The foam on Waitpinga Beach. (ABC News: Caroline Horn)
Local surfer Anthony Rowland said he visited Waitpinga Beach on Saturday morning with a couple of friends.
“While we were out there we started coughing,” he said.
“[We] came in [from the beach] and we kept coughing after walking up the hill, and a few people in the car park came over and they said that they’d experienced the same coughing and they hadn’t even hit the water yet.”
Mr Rowland said he experienced sore eyes, a sore throat and coughing which “continued all day”.
man in a blue jumper with a goatee kneels down and faces the camera on a beach
Local surfer Anthony Rowland says what has occurred on Waitpinga Beach "isn't normal". (ABC News: Caroline Horn)
He said he posted his experience on social media, which prompted dozens of people to come forward and report a similar experience.
“Lots of people reached out – so many people have said they’ve had exactly the same symptoms,” he said.
“It’s quite overwhelming. I’d say that pretty much every single person that went in the water at Waitpinga, bar one young fella that had a quick half-an-hour surf, has reported the same symptoms.”
The ABC has contacted SA Health for comment.
‘A bit scary’: Beachgoers report blurry vision
Mr Rowland said blurred vision was among the most common symptoms reported by local surfers who visited Waitpinga over the weekend.
He said one surfer reported experiencing these symptoms as early as Friday.
“His eyes were mostly affected and he said his vision was blurry and it was quite heavily affecting his vision, and the next morning it was still blurry when he spoke – but it got better," Mr Rowland said.
“It’s definitely a bit scary.
“There’s been at least I’d say 15 people out of maybe the 40 to 60 who have contacted me via message … have said their vision was heavily affected.”
A crusty white brown foam washed up on a beach
The foam on Waitpinga Beach. (ABC News: Caroline Horn)
Surfer Andy from Middleton said he visited Parsons Beach on Saturday morning and received messages from several friends who said they were “sick with sore eyes”.
“They had coughs, they had breathing difficulties when they were driving home back to Adelaide,” he told ABC Radio Adelaide.
“A lot of people come down here on the weekends to surf from Adelaide and I had 30 or 40 messages with the same symptoms and they actually said their friends had it as well.
“Some people reported a bit of a slick on the water too.
“A couple people said they saw a lot of green on the beach, but yesterday there was a lot of foam, a lot of brown on the beach as well.
“There’s lots of different theories going around at the moment.”
PIRSA investigating fish deaths
A dead fish with black and white stripes lays in the sand
A range of fish species have washed up dead on Waitpinga Beach. (ABC News: Caroline Horn)
Mr Rowland said he picked up six dead leafy seadragons within a 15-metre stretch of the beach.
He said there was a “big range of species” that had been left on the beach when he visited again on Sunday night.
“We want answers because this isn’t normal,” he said.
A vertical row of dead seadragons on a wooden base
Anthony Rowland collected a number of dead seadragons on Waitpinga Beach. (Supplied: anthonyrowlandmages/Instagram)
“I’ve lived down here since I was three years old, I’m 42 now, never seen this out here at Waitpinga.”
PIRSA said it was investigating the matter in conjunction with the Environment Protection Authority and SA Health.
Posted11m ago11 minutes agoMon 17 Mar 2025 at 5:38am
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