spawning grounds, and anecdotal observations suggested increased numbers in 2006 and 2007; however, a new survey in 2008 found the biomass had decreased a further 17%. In 2011, an estimated 33% of the 2010 population had returned to breed, fewer than 80,000 cuttlefish. Beginning in May, the cuttlefish leave deep water and migrate along coastal reefs to reach their spawning grounds. Local fishermen claimed that a small "finger of land" near Point Lowly extends outside the exclusion zone and that commercial fishers have been targeting the area, intercepting the squid before they can reach the spawning grounds. Being semelparous breeders, ecologist Bronwyn Gillanders believed the cuttlefish were in danger, stating that determining whether this is a natural phenomenon or something else is difficult, and that the cause requires more research. In 2012, the number of cuttlefish that returned to the spawning ground again dropped again. A cross-government Cuttlefish Working Group was established and recommended investigating broader ecological factors. Tour guide Tony Bramley, who had been taking divers to view the spawning grounds since they were discovered, stated, "It's heartbreaking, when you look at what's left ... [once] there were so many animals you couldn't land on the bottom, you had to push them aside." The Conservation Council of South Australia, which believes the population to be a separate species based on unpublished scientific data, warned that the Spencer Gulf cuttlefish faced possible extinction within two or three years if nothing was done to better protect them. The state government working group recommended an immediate ban on fishing for the cuttlefish; however, this was rejected by the state cabinet on 3 September with Fisheries Minister Gail Gago stating, "There is no strong evidence to suggest that fishing is impacting on the giant cuttlefish, therefore, further closures would be ineffective." On 28 March 2013, the state government introduced a temporary ban on fishing for cuttlefish in the northern Spencer Gulf for the 2013 breeding season. Fisheries Minister Gago announced that research into the reasons behind the 90% decline in the cuttlefish population had ruled out commercial fishing as a cause, but was otherwise inconclusive, and that further areas of Spencer Gulf would be closed in 2014. The population continued its decline, reaching the lowest numbers on record in 2013. In 2014, the cuttlefish population showed first signs of potential recovery, after 15 years of an overall trend of decline. Numbers increased again