Public Communique – National Recovery Team for the Maugean skate, 11 June 2024
Meeting 3: 20-21 February 2024
Meeting Overview
The National Recovery Team for the Maugean Skate met for the third time, in Strahan and online, from 20-21 February 2024. Meetings with community members and site visits were held in conjunction with the meeting. The Chair acknowledged the significant body of work undertaken since the second meeting, which included establishment of the captive breeding program, initiation of the Macquarie Harbour Oxygenation Pilot (MHOP) trial, enhanced monitoring and modelling work and community engagement activities. A short update on progress is provided below.
Captive Breeding Program
This program, which aims to establish an ex-situ insurance population to develop a long-term captive breeding program, has obtained all required animal ethics and permit approvals. The program is a collaboration between the University of Tasmania’s Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), SeaLife Sydney and Cradle Coast Natural Resource Management (CCNRM). Standard operating procedures for collection, transfer and housing have been developed. An independent Steering Committee has been established, including local and international experts, to provide oversight and advice for the program.
Fifty skate eggs and four adults were collected from Macquarie Harbour and transferred to the IMAS facility at Taroona in December 2023. Despite significant mitigation strategies to protect the captive skates, two of the adults (one male and one female) died in late December. An investigation into the cause and learnings from the mortality event is ongoing. The two remaining adult skates (one male and one female) are feeding and behaving as expected.
Several eggs have also successfully hatched, and the hatchlings are feeding and behaving as expected. Future management plans for the captive adults and juveniles are being developed. Facilities at IMAS Taroona will be expanded to accommodate the captive breeding program over time.
Read the full report here: https://tasmaniantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Recovery-Team-Maugean-Skate-Meeting-3-Communique-Feb-2024-1.pdf
Media release – Bob Brown Foundation, 11 June 2024
Salmon Tasmania a no show at Maugean Skate Recovery meeting with the public left in the dark
Today, a public communique regarding the Maugean Skate Recovery Team has been released a full four months after the last meeting and with very little detail. To make matters worse, The Bob Brown Foundation has been informed on good authority that Salmon Tasmania was not present at the last recovery team meeting.
The Bob Brown Foundation is calling on the Tasmanian Government to ensure that a public communique is put out within one month of the Maugean Skate Recovery Team meetings and that all absences are recorded and published as part of the public record.
“Salmon Tasmania once again shows they cannot be trusted, this time, not even bothering to show up to the Maugean Skate Recovery Team meeting. The only thing Salmon Tasmania cares about is extracting as much profit as they can out of Macquarie Harbour,” said Alistair Allan, Antarctic and Marine campaigner at the Bob Brown Foundation
“Salmon Tasmania cannot dispute the facts. The federal government conservation advice concluded that salmon farming is a catastrophic impact on the Maugean skate’s survival. Fish farms must be removed from Macquarie Harbour immediately.”
“Salmon Tasmania is completely content with sending the Maugean skate to extinction. So much so, they don’t even see a need to go to the recovery meetings,” said Alistair Allan.
Media release – Environment Tasmania, 12 June 2024
Maugean Skate National Recovery Team Communique too little too late
Today, public communique for the Maugean Skate National Recovery Team’s February meeting has been released with scant and stale information.
Notably, Salmon Tasmania did not attend the meeting despite being a key member of the National Recovery Team and, according to the Australian Government’s Conservation Advice, the industry being the primary threat to the endangered skate.
“The Tasmanian community deserves transparency – and not four-months after the fact. Tasmanians deserve to know in a timely manner what the recovery team are deliberating on, including detailed information from the latest science, and status reports of the various efforts such as the oxygenation project and captive breeding program.” said Rebecca Howarth, Senior Marine Campaigner, Environment Tasmania.
“Instead, we have Salmon Tasmania – who did not even bother to attend the recovery team meeting – spinning the science and giving their vested take on efforts.”
Environment Tasmania calls on the convenors of the recovery team, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Tasmania (NRE Tas) and the Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water (DCCEEW), to publish communiques with meaningful, detailed information on the deliberations and within two weeks of meetings.
