<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>South Australian fishers are grappling with a severe economic downturn as the state's toxic algal bloom threatens the local seafood industry. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Declining sales, fuelled by consumer concerns over contamination, have prompted calls for the algal bloom to be declared a national disaster by the federal government.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Rod Ness, a commercial fisherman in Victor Harbor for three decades, expressed deep concern about the devastation facing the industry. </span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/western-australia-kalgoorlie-boulder-stinky-town-notices-an-improvement-after-adding-lime-to-source-of-odour/9aaedbe6-66a5-46a6-86f2-3521881903c7"><strong><span>Stinky town notices an improvement after expert sniffs out source of odour</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's a massive part of the foundation of the state. And it's being ripped to pieces," Ness said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The crisis was a central topic at an urgent meeting hosted by the state government. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The public is scared of… eating fish. And our sales at our fresh fish shop have dropped 70 per cent in the last three weeks," Ness said. </span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/toxic-algae-bloom-south-australia-calls-natural-disaster-declaration-seafood-industry/07536ff4-1fba-404d-a6fc-aaef88299593" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The algal bloom, which has been spreading for months, is showing no signs of abating. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Now that it's here, it's going to be hard to get rid of," Ness said. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"And while we've seen a lot of weather changes, a lot of that has just pushed the bloom around, instead of getting rid of it."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/qantas-customers-to-recieve-personal-information-about-data-stolen-in-cyber-attack/b62d3b0b-52aa-4a7d-86fb-6a584bacdd45"><strong><span>The email six million Australians should expect from Qantas</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>There are reports scientists wrote to the federal government seeking funding to deal with the worsening problem but were knocked back.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"If we had dead fish and marine life washing up day after day on Bondi Beach or on the North Shore of Sydney, there'd be a national outcry," Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The federal government has so far resisted calls to declare the situation a national disaster.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Well I'd have to look at the request because it hasn't come to me but we'll obviously work with governments across the board increasingly to deal with the impacts of climate change," Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The state government says it may increase pressure on the Commonwealth to reconsider its position if the bloom continues to spread. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ness voiced his frustration with the federal response. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I'm questioning them not jumping at the chance to call it a national disaster," he said. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I know a lot of fishermen from a lot of various areas that are very stressed out and doing it pretty hard."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><span>This article was produced with the assistance of</span></em><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/technology/9express/16480c33-636a-461f-9c4f-d0e2522c722a"><em><span>9ExPress</span></em></a><em><span>.</span></em></div></div>