Fish-killing blooms of marine microalgae threaten the expansion of both Korean and Australian finfish aquaculture industries, causing recurrent multimillion-dollar losses and endangering seafood security.

As part of the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies' Centre for Ecology & Biodiversity, Professor Gustaaf Hallegraeff's research group has significantly contributed to our global understanding of these events, with recent work focussing on mitigation efforts.

As part of this investigation, PhD student Andreas Seger explored and fine-tuned the use of clay minerals to effectively mop up fish-killing algal toxins. Clay has long been employed in Korean waters as a mitigation strategy for fish-killing algal blooms, albeit with a focus on the removal of harmful algal cells through flocculation. The absorption of fish-killing algal toxins by clay is a novel approach and presents an important additional benefit to clay application.

In 2015, Andreas reconnected with Professor Hallegraeff's previous PhD student, Dr. Tae-Gyu Park (now a senior scientist at the National Institute for Fisheries Science, Tongyeong, Korea) to witness the field application of clay in Korean waters first hand.

Collaborative experiments revealed the significant potential of combining Korean and Australian approaches, leading to the formation of the project 'Korea-Australia consortium to protect finfish aquaculture from harmful algal blooms', supported by a small grant from the Australia-Korea Foundation.

The project aims to further collaboration between the two countries by uniting both Australian and Korean research groups to formulate effective mitigation strategies.

The project is off to a running start with the most effective clay type and particle size for a range of fish-killing algal species already identified. Last month, Andreas and Professor Hallegraeff travelled to Florianopolis, Brazil, to present some of these initial findings at the 17th International Conference on Harmful Algae.

The work stimulated much interest, particularly from countries such as Chile, which is just recovering from social unrest after an algal bloom that resulted in the loss of over $50 million worth of Atlantic salmon.

Experiences such as these reiterate the urgent need for effective mitigation strategies and place the Korea-Australia Consortium at the forefront of harmful algal bloom mitigation research.

The Australia-Korea Foundation was established by the Australian Government in 1992 to promote bilateral relations between Korea and Australia.

The 2017 grant round is now open for projects deepening connections between Australia and Korea.