South Australian seafood lovers can now safely consume pipis collected from Goolwa Beach, as the Easter weekend gets underway.

It comes as algal bloom testing and monitoring confirms the vast majority of South Australian waters remains free of Karenia algae, including right along the Goolwa and Coorong coastline.

Recreational fishers can now collect Goolwa pipis for human consumption between Middle Point and the Murray Mouth.

It follows SA Shellfish Quality Assurance Program (SASQAP) testing, which has confirmed the seafood staple is safe to eat.

Between the start of the 2025-26 recreational pipi season and today, recreational fishers have been restricted to only collecting pipis at Goolwa Beach for use as bait.

The easing of those restrictions comes after commercial pipis fishing zones along the nearby Coorong coast reopened in recent weeks, with SASQAP testing confirming brevetoxin levels have reduced to safe levels.

All commercially available pipis are safe to eat.

Pipis on Goolwa Beach will continue to be regularly sampled by SASQAP to ensure they remain safe for human consumption.

Recreational bag limits remain in place to ensure healthy stock levels of Goolwa pipis where they occur:

• Goolwa Beach: 330 pipis per person, per day.
• Gulf St Vincent: 165 pipis per person, per day.

The recreational fishing season for Goolwa pipis ends on 31 May.

Quotes

Attributable to Clare Scriven

I join the state’s recreational fishing community and seafood enthusiasts in welcoming the lifting of restrictions on Goolwa pipis.

As Easter weekend gets underway, I encourage all South Australians to support our seafood producers and to enjoy some delicious Goolwa pipis.

Everyone can be confident that pipis collected from Goolwa Beach are safe to consume.

Attributable to Executive Director of the South Australian Research and Development Institute, Professor Mike Steer

It is positive news for recreational fishers ahead of Easter that pipis collected from Goolwa Beach are now safe for human consumption.

SASQAP has been testing pipis on Goolwa Beach regularly to ensure food safety standards are met, and the satisfactory results in the past two weeks confirms they are safe.

We will continue to test pipis on Goolwa Beach to be sure they remain safe for the public to consume.

All commercially available shellfish, including pipis, from South Australian waters are safe to eat as it undergoes strict testing to uphold food safety standards.

Attributable to the Chief Executive Officer of RecFish SA, Asher Deszery

RecFish SA is pleased to hear the recreational pipi fishery across Goolwa Beach is once again open. Farmed pipis can now be sold for human consumption, and able to be enjoyed again by South Australians.

Pipis represent an important part of the South Australia fishing lifestyle for use as bait and for consumption particularly leading into Easter.

The announcement of pipis being safe gives huge confidence that we can focus on easing our way back into traditional fishing methods with seafood and shellfish that are safe to eat due to the testing conducted.

Most importantly, RecFish SA is pleased to hear the impact of recent algae events on pipis has diminished.

We thank the Department of Primary Industries and Regions for working through the process and ensuring pipis from Goolwa are safe to consume when recreationally collected also.