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More Responses to Cooke Takeover of Tassal
Media release – NTTAS for Clean Oceans, 17 August 2022
Tasmanian salmon industry 100% owned by overseas companies
On 16 August 2022, it was announced that the last of the Tasmanian industrial salmon producers has been sold to Cooke. Tassal has joined Petuna and Huon Aquaculture – all three off-shore companies will be fully controlled by shareholder demands.
Robyn Weare, (Secretary, NWTAS for Clean Oceans) said today: “Tasmania’s marine environment has just become a resource to be blatantly exploited at full speed. The Tasmanian government can no longer boast about their precious Tasmanian salmon industry now Tassal has been purchased by Cooke”.
“Any influence or control the government had over the operation of the industry has disappeared in a puff of smoke. Tasmania’s environment is now in the hands of shareholders. This government has a reputation for blindly supporting this rapacious industry and for ignoring the groundswell of anger and opposition”.
“Under this new regime, the pressure on Tasmania’s marine resources and environment will escalate. Any loyalty to the Tasmanian community and its workers will be abandoned with scant regard for government regulations with their puny penalties for bad behaviour. Loyalty will be only to shareholders”.
“Only 1500 Tasmanians are currently employed by the three companies which together have an almost 1-billion-dollar turnover in Tasmania with plans to expand to 2 billion in a few short years”.
“You can be sure these foreign owned multi-national companies will continue to maximise industry automation resulting in even fewer jobs. Low-cost labour will be imported from overseas and there will be no protection for Tasmania, or the small number of people employed in the industry”.
“This is the time for the government to put a stop to any expansion of finfish farming and to, as soon as possible, dismantle the current industry or transition it to land. Instead, they are obstinately rushing into a 10 Year Salmon Plan which will benefit only these foreign-owned companies. And for what?”
“The government’s proposed 10 Year Plan will give away our north-west coastal waters and Bass Strait for at least 10 years. Now is the time for all Tasmanians to speak out before it is too late or witness the degradation of our shores.”
“We plan to escalate our information campaign in the north-west and will continue to make representations to politicians and others, to hold public meetings and rallies. I urge north-west-coasters to join the fight to save our marine environment, to ensure salmon farming is not imposed on Bass Strait and to protect our tourist industry”.
“Our next public meeting is in Devonport Yacht Club at 2.00pm on 3 September 2022. Highly respected and knowledgeable speakers will be there to inform our communities about the latest alarming developments and have an opportunity to ask questions. Please come”.
“Our group also has an Open E-Petition to the Tasmanian House of Assembly which calls for the government to:
(1) Place a moratorium on all finfish farming expansion, including the plans for expansion in northern Tasmanian coastal waters and in Commonwealth controlled waters of Bass Strait, until open, honest and comprehensive public consultation is completed;
(2) Fully consider all 68 recommendations of the Legislative Council’s Finfish Report: and
(3) Finalise a Salmon Industry Growth Plan”.
https://haepetitions.parliament.tas.gov.au/haepet/Home/PetitionDetails/104.
Media release – Dr Rosalie Woodruff MP, Greens Environment and Biodiversity spokesperson, 17 August 2022
Jaensch Confirms Salmon Status Quo as Foreign Companies Circle
After years of unchecked expansion and worsening environmental and social impacts, Tasmania’s industrial fish farming industry is about to enter its darkest phase. All three of the state’s industrial fish farm operators will soon be owned by large international corporations, with regulations as limp as lettuce to govern them.
No Tasmanian would be comforted by the Environment Minister’s attempted assurances in Parliament today, when the Greens asked him about the government’s priorities. It’s clear Minister Jaensch won’t change a thing.
These corporate behemoths have been drawn to Tasmania by the lack of proper regulation of the salmon industry. Their chequered – in places, criminal – track records suggest they will have no qualms about further exploiting our island’s waterways, and will pay no heed to coastal communities.
Despite the obvious risks facing Tasmania, the Liberal Government refuses to act. Their response to the Legislative Council Inquiry into Fin Fish Farming ignores the overwhelming evidence of the need to strengthen environmental standards and regulations to protect the state’s waterways.
Without legislated limits on nitrogen pollution and salmon biomass in leases, farm lease assessments, and a prohibition on farming in inshore areas, there are no meaningful protections to stop these foreign mega-companies using our marine waters for waste dumps.
The Liberals’ priorities are putting the profits of massive international corporations first, and everything else – last. Tasmania’s marine environment and our coastal communities are apparently acceptable collateral damage.
Under the Liberals, this island’s fragile and unique waterways will continue to be degraded by a highly polluting industry that sends its profits offshore. It’s a shocking failure to look after the best interests of this state, and Tasmanians have every right to feel betrayed.
Media release – Tasman Peninsula Marine Protection (TPMP), 17 August 2022
Re: Cooke Aquaculture purchase of Tassal
The last of Tasmania’s 3 salmon farming companies has fallen into foreign hands, with Tassal having being purchased by Cooke Aquaculture – a company with an appalling record on environmental, animal welfare and workplace issues across the countries where is has operations – Chile, USA, Canada,& Scotland.
For the Tasman Peninsula campaign to ‘Give Back Long Bay’, Port Arthur and free it of Tassal’s salmon pens, it is now even more urgent that the lease for the pens is revoked and that there can be no further salmon farming operations in Long Bay.
“Cooke is one of the world’s largest seafood companies. Its track record is not good, and it is shocking that this company is moving into Tasmania and will be in control of the controversial shallow water salmon farming areas off the Tasman Peninsula “ says TPMP spokesperson Trish Baily.
“I am not surprised that these companies are moving to Tasmania where governmental control of the salmon industry is minimal and where leases for salmon pens cost nothing and returns to community are simply not there”.
Cooke have a track history of environmental violations. They were charged for releasing banned pesticides and killing hundreds of Lobsters in New Brunswick, Canada; for overstocking farms and not conducting environmental testing in Maine (USA) and for losing over 1/4 million fish off Washington State ( USA) when a pen collapsed, due to poor net cleaning and maintenance. Cooke’s salmon farms are continually plagued by disease outbreaks in their Eastern Canada, Scotland and Chilean operations.
This is just a tiny list of many environmental infractions across the globe associated with Cooke’s salmon operations.
It’s been bad enough with Tassal’s lack of public consultation and no transparency on reporting of fish deaths, disease, pollution that has led to the obvious deterioration of the ecosystems in Long Bay, off Nubeena and in the Channel. We can only hope that before Cooke arrive that all Tassal’s operations in shallow waters are removed. TPMP call for government to cancel all the shallow water leases and to bring that into effect immediately for Long Bay, Port Arthur as we have already requested.
PETITION: So Long Salmon Farms – Give Back Long Bay.
Media release – Tasmanian Independent Science Council, 16 August 2022
Co-Instigator Welcomes Government Response to Fin Fish Inquiry
The Tasmanian Independent Science Council welcomes the Tasmanian Government’s response to the Legislative Council Fin Fish Inquiry, which affirms the importance of re-thinking the growing salmon farming industry.
Key points:
- The Legislative Council Fin Fish Farming Inquiry report was tabled in Parliament in May. The 68 evidence-based recommendations made in the report spanned integrated use, governance, habitat damage, wildlife interaction, human health and safety, and jellyfish.
- The Tasmanian Government has supported a third of the Recommendations and supported in principle almost all the remaining two thirds, reaffirming the Committee’s findings.
“I congratulate the Finfish Inquiry Committee for a robust investigation and proper outcome, and I congratulate the Tasmanian Government for taking this Inquiry seriously.
“The brushing by two of the Inquiry’s most significant recommendations — an integrated marine plan and ceasing operations in sensitive coastal habitats — is disappointing”, said Dr Lisa Gershwin, a member of the Tasmanian Independent Science Council and one of the four initiators of the Fin Fish Inquiry.
“Adoption of all of the Inquiries’ recommendations is important for areas like Macquarie Harbour, where oxygen levels have still not recovered as a result of fin fish farming, placing significant risks on the marine creatures such as the Maugearn skate.
“I am encouraged particularly to see the six new initiatives, which include expanding transparency measures, phasing out flow through hatcheries and converting to fully recirculating systems, developing new standards for hatcheries and wildlife interactions, and updating the marine debris zero tolerance policy.
“I am extremely pleased to see the attention to hatcheries. Cleaning up these hatchery outflows is urgently important for the health and safety of all Tasmanians.
“I welcome the acknowledgment of the wildlife interaction problem. The current approach is woeful in permitting the detonation of tens of thousands of seal bombs each year yet being silent on the collateral damage to other impacted species like dolphins, penguins, and fish.
“I am pleased to see attention to the safety issue of marine debris. People have already been injured crashing into marine debris; it is a race against time before it kills someone. However, if ‘zero tolerance’ were enforced, it wouldn’t need updating.
“Two of the ‘Initiatives’, namely a review of the Act and a review of the penalties and compliance frameworks, should be replaced with tangible outcomes that will improve the long-term viability of the industry and the habitats in which it operates, and improve the social license in the community. Reviews won’t do either.”