Manny Katz
ON THE RECORD · 8 verbatim quotes · every quote source-verified
“Our marine habitats have been getting wiped out for the past year and a half now... this is an indicator that our marine ecosystems are in real big trouble - the canary in the coal mine, so to speak.”
Manny Katz · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-29
A toxic algal bloom has been devastating South Australia's coastline for over 18 months.
“[We] pretty much looked under every single rock that we could have and we only found about 440 eggs.”
Manny Katz · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-29
Katz's team conducted eight one-hour dives along the coastline to count cuttlefish eggs.
“so the success of one breeding season is going to determine the population next year”
Manny Katz · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-29
Adult cuttlefish only live about 12 to 18 months, making each breeding season crucial for the species' future.
“Under our current circumstances, with there being so few eggs along the coastline, we don't know if the population is ever going to be able to recover.”
Manny Katz · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-29
Only 440 eggs were counted instead of the millions that are usually laid during the mating season.
“we will know that answer probably in the next year or two, whether or not this year has been a catastrophic decline.”
Manny Katz · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-29
Katz said it is too early to tell what the low numbers mean for the species' future.
“Because there have been so few cuttlefish, DEW thought it would be worth going out and trying to do an assessment of how many eggs there currently are around the coastline to understand what the population is going to be next year.”
Manny Katz · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-29
Katz was one of four divers who spent hours along the coast to observe the annual breeding event.
“This year, they were all really skittish... hiding under rocks. Because there's so few cuttlefish hanging out at the moment, they don't have strength in numbers.”
Manny Katz · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-29
Katz's team saw only a dozen or so adult cuttlefish when there should have been tens of thousands.
“Along the eight kilometres (five miles) of coastline, there would normally be millions of eggs,”
Manny Katz · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-29
Katz's team explored the undersides of rocky reefs over two days in July to count eggs.