Algal bloom chief asked about 'disaster' declaration as inquiry told of thousands of marine deaths

The South Australian government has never formally requested that the Commonwealth declare the algal bloom a "national disaster", a senior SA bureaucrat has told a parliamentary inquiry — despite a state minister "advocating" for such a response three months ago.

The question of whether the bloom should have been classified as a disaster has been one of the most politically contentious since the Karenia mikimotoi bloom was first detected along the state's south coast in March.

In July, SA Minister for Primary Industries and Regions Clare Scriven expressed hope that the federal government would align itself "with what we have been advocating, which is that this is a national disaster" .

A short time later, federal Environment Minister Murray Watt said the bloom had been "managed o