Fears of ‘catastrophic’ decline of giant Australian cuttlefish after only 44 counted in dive survey

Giant cuttlefish in the upper Spencer Gulf, in a photograph taken before South Australia’s algal bloom. Scientists fear a ‘catastrophic’ decline after only 44 individuals were found in a recent dive survey. Photograph: Stefan Andrews

Scientists and divers have called on the South Australian government to release official cuttlefish population estimates amid fears of a “catastrophic” decline, after a dive survey counted only 44 individuals.

Each year, tens to hundreds of thousands of giant Australian cuttlefish assemble off the coast of Whyalla, in the upper Spencer Gulf, to breed – the only place globally where cuttlefish gather en masse.