Floods, fires and phytoplankton: some perspectives on water quality in the Gippsland Lakes

The Gippsland Lakes form Australia’s largest estuary and suffer periodic blooms of toxic cyanobacteria that close the waterway for recreation and fishing. Here we discuss the underlying causes and sequence of events that lead to bloom formation, and the consequences as well as the history of these blooms prior to European colonisation. Efforts to prevent blooms have focused on catchment nutrient reduction efforts and we believe this is the most sensible approach, albeit one that is costly and long term.