Thompson Beach is a locality in the

Australian state The states and territories are the national subdivisions and second level of government of Australia. The states are partially sovereignty, sovereign, administrative divisions that are autonomous administrative division, self-governing polity, ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

located on the eastern coastline of

Gulf St Vincent Gulf St Vincent, sometimes referred to as St Vincent Gulf, St Vincent's Gulf or Gulf of St Vincent, is the eastern of two large inlets of water on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, the other being the larger Sp ...

about north of the

Adelaide city centre Adelaide city centre () is the inner city locality of Adelaide, Greater Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is known by locals simply as "the City" or "Town" to distinguish it from Greater Adelaide and from the City of Adelaide l ...

. Thompson Beach started as a sub-division in 1980 with boundaries being created in June 1997. Land use with the locality is principally

residential A residential area is a land used in which houses, housing predominates, as opposed to industrial district, industrial and Commercial Area, commercial areas. Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include ...

with built development being of a ‘low density’. Thompson Beach is located within the federal

Division of Grey The Division of Grey is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in South Australia. The division was one of the seven established when the former Division of South Australia was redistributed on 2 ...

, the state

electoral district of Narungga Narungga is a single-member Electoral districts of South Australia, electoral district for the South Australian House of Assembly. It was created by the redistribution of 2016, and was contested for the first time at the 2018 South Australian sta ...

, and the local government area of the

Adelaide Plains Council The Adelaide Plains Council (formerly the District Council of Mallala) is a local government area in South Australia. It consists of a largely rural region along the Gulf St Vincent Gulf St Vincent, sometimes referred to as St Vincent Gulf ...

Crabbing

Thompson Beach is particularly known for its blue swimmer crabs, with the prime season being from October to April. The beach has an extremely gradual incline, allowing a fisherman to walk several hundred meters out to sea during low tide while the water remains below knee level: this provides a vast area for crabbing. Special crab rakes are employed to capture these crabs around seagrass patches. It is advised to handle the crabs gently to prevent damage and adhere to strict limits enforced by the PIRSA: a personal daily bag limit of 20 (combined with sand crabs), a daily boat limit of 60 (for groups of 3 or more), and a minimum legal size of 11 cm. Females with external eggs must be released immediately. In recent years, a greater emphasis has been put on sustainable practices to preserve this ecosystem, encouraging a relaxed approach that minimizes harm to the crabs and their habitat.

References

;Notes ;Citations Towns in South Australia Gulf St Vincent {{SouthAustralia-geo-stub

Crabbing

See also

References