Media release – Neighbours of Fish Farming, 16 August 2024
NOFF demands immediate action to protect Maugean skate
There are no excuses for further delays in removing open-net salmon pens from Macquarie Harbour in light of the latest scientific advice to the Federal Minister for the Environment, Tanya Plibersek.
Just as urgent is Federal and State action to help the Tasmanian west coast transition to sustainable employment and industry – an effort well overdue and which NOFF has been advocating for years.
News that Australia’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee has recommended drastically cutting back or removing the polluting industry from Macquarie Harbour to protect the 60-million-year-old Maugean skate from extinction comes as no surprise to NOFF – but nor to the state’s politicians or the industry itself.
NOFF calls on Minister Plibersek to delay no longer as she received similar advice from Federal scientists last year who urged her to act before last summer.
Comments by Peter George, NOFF president, currently in Seattle, USA:
“The latest scientific advice on Macquarie Harbour could not be clearer and it’s time that Salmon Tasmania and its foreign owners faced up to their responsibilities.
“They’ve long known the impact their industry has had on Macquarie Harbour but they’ve avoided their responsibilities by refusing to acknowledge the damage and mounted intensive lobbying of politicians to cover for them.
“Their plans to take a west coast workers delegation to Canberra amount to no more than one more hollow attempt to bully politicians not to act in Tasmania’s greater interests which is protecting our unique natural resources from industrial destruction.
“They’d achieve more by approaching Federal and State governments for assistance in funding a long-overdue transition away from the salmon industry to sustainable employment in sustainable industries – industries that might well include land-based fish production or alternate forms of aquaculture that do not inflict damage on the waterway.”
Editor’s note: the advice referred to is here, from page 10 onwards.
Media release – Rosalie Woodruff MP, Greens Leader, 16 August 2024
Urgent Action Needed on Macquarie Harbour Fish Farms
New advice from the Australian Threatened Species Scientific Committee about the Maugean skate could not be any clearer – industrial fish farming in Macquarie Harbour is driving this ancient species towards extinction, and urgent action must be taken.
The multinational corporations running the Tasmanian industry will never admit their role in pushing the Maugean skate to the brink, but the evidence from this highly respected and independent scientific body is clear. For the skate to have any chance of surviving, we must tackle the issue of industrial fish farming in Macquarie Harbour head-on.
To give the skate a fighting chance, we have to end fish farming in Macquarie Harbour for good. A captive breeding program is pointless if there’s nowhere safe to release these unique animals back into the wild.
We recognise the impact on workers and the Strahan community if removing these fish farms was not accompanied with proper leadership, workforce planning, and support from the government. That’s why earlier this year we released a transition plan that guarantees all 60 local workers in the fish farm industry have a job going forward. I’m pleased to be on the west coast today talking to stakeholders about this plan.
If the Federal Minister for the Environment wants to make sure there’s no extinctions on her watch, she needs to act urgently on Macquarie Harbour fish farms. And if that happens, the government needs to be prepared to support the Strahan community by making sure every worker has a new job – at the same or better rate of pay – going forward.
Media release – Peter Whish-Wilson, Greens Senator for Tasmania, 16 August 2024
Will Labor listen to its own Threatened Species Scientific Committee or toxic salmon companies?
The Albanese government must heed new advice from its own Threatened Species Scientific Committee (TSSC) and remove salmon farming from Macquarie Harbour, in order to save the Maugean skate from extinction.
Scientists haven’t minced their words – they’ve stated very clearly that the salmon industry will either need to be scaled back dramatically or removed entirely from Macquarie Harbour if the Maugean skate is to survive.
This is now the second time the Albanese government has been advised by the TSSC to make an extreme intervention to save the Maugean skate.
The new advice comes as the TSSC today invites public consultation on whether the status of the Maugean skate should be updated from endangered to critically endangered under national environment law.
Quotes attributable to Greens Senator for lutruwita/Tasmania, Peter Whish-Wilson:
“How many times do scientists need to raise the alarm before the Minister acts?
“Without action to remove salmon farming from the Maugean skate’s wild and natural environment, the government appears content to consign the endangered prehistoric species to an aquarium.
“The viability of salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour has been drastically overstated to the west coast community by the salmon farming industry. Science has identified Macquarie Harbour as an unsuitable place for the scale of salmon farming that is currently operating there – clearly efforts should be focused on transitioning workers into more sustainable industries.
“It’s unconscionable to think that the Albanese government would rather deceive Tasmanians about jobs in an unsustainable and toxic salmon industry than prevent the avoidable extinction of an entire species in its only wild habitat.
“The Albanese government now has a critical moral and political decision to make: will it heed the advice of its own expert Threatened Species Scientific Committee, or protect the profits of foreign-owned salmon companies?”
Media release – Nick Duigan, Minister for Parks and Environment, 16 August 2024
Tasmanian Government committed to Maugean skate survival
The Tasmanian Government notes draft federal conservation advice regarding the Maugean skate released yesterday.
Minister for Parks and Environment, Nick Duigan, said the government has been very clear about its commitment to protecting the Maugean skate, while also supporting regional Tasmanian jobs.
“This Government firmly believes the Maugean skate and the salmon industry can co-exist, and that’s why we are investing $2.1 million into the Skate Recovery Fund to ensure the species’ long-term survival,” Minister Duigan said.
“This investment comes from our $8 million Threatened Species Fund, part of our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future.
“A comprehensive Conservation Action Plan is being implemented and overseen by the National Recovery Team and a comprehensive environmental management framework is in place.”
The Recovery Team comprises a range of stakeholders and expertise, representing Government, research institutions, industry and community.
The conservation actions include a captive breeding program being undertaken at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) to help create an insurance population for the species.
“Just this week we have seen the exciting results of this captive breeding program where baby Maugean skates have hatched from eggs laid in captivity right here in Tasmania.
“Through this program IMAS scientists are learning more and more about the species.
“We know the Macquarie Harbour Oxygenation Project is also showing promising early results, and evidence-based science demonstrates the harbour environment is improving.”
Data released in June by the Independent Environmental Regulator shows a clear trend of improving oxygen levels and sediment health, with dissolved oxygen levels continuing to improve in the middle and deeper waters of the harbour.
“The conservation advice acknowledges these dissolved oxygen improvements.
“It also shows that threats to the skate are complex and cannot be attributed to a single issue alone with weather events, temperature and climate change as well as water inflows, recreational and commercial fishing all having a bearing on the harbour.”
There is ongoing population monitoring of the Maugean skate in Macquarie Harbour to inform conservation management actions.
Restrictions for gillnetting in Macquarie Harbour were formalised in November 2023 to minimise the risk of interactions between skate and fishers.
Minister Duigan said Tasmania will participate in the consultation on the Federal Government’s conservation advice.
“The well-being of the west coast community and the skate will remain at the forefront of this Government’s decisions and actions.”
