Media release – Anthony Albanese MP, Prime Minister of Australia; Julie Collins MP, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry; Senator Anne Urquhart, Senator for Tasmania, 12 November 2024

Boosting water quality in Macquarie Harbour

The Albanese Labor Government wants to see a sustainable salmon industry that supports workers and their families right into the future.

We are also committed to protecting the environment.

That’s why we’re investing more than $28 million in new measures to boost water quality and improve environmental conditions at Macquarie Harbour.

These measures will build on existing environmental and species conservation interventions in Macquarie Harbour, which plays an important role in Tasmania’s $1 billion aquaculture industry.

Of the funding, $21 million will be committed to improving and scaling up oxygenation in Macquarie Harbour.

Oxygenation will help offset the effects of human activities, while other aspects of the program focus on sediment remediation and research on the effects of historical mining.

Another $5 million will expand the current Maugean skate breeding program’s work on hatching eggs and raising juvenile skates for release.

This will help sustain the Maugean skate population, while environmental conservation efforts work to improve its habitat.

$2.5 million will be committed to skate population and environmental monitoring, compliance as well as community engagement.

This includes engagement with the nearby community of Strahan, and environmental monitoring to better understand the ecosystems and health of Macquarie Harbour.

Quotes attributable to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
“The Tasmanian salmon industry is the backbone of many regional communities and it’s essential we support the thousands of jobs it creates right across the state.

“To do that it’s essential we have a sustainable industry, which supports workers and the environment.

“That’s exactly what this will help to do, making sure we have a sustainable salmon industry and deliver stability for workers and their families into the future.”

Quotes attributable to Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Julie Collins
“The Albanese Labor Government backs Tasmania’s salmon industry which supports thousands of jobs across the state.

“That’s why I’m pleased to announce these measures today to increase efforts to improve the health of Macquarie Harbour.

“These measures will protect our state’s unique environment and support sustainable salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour.

“Tasmania’s independent environmental regulator has already confirmed oxygen levels in Macquarie Harbour are rising, and the Albanese Labor Government is pleased to be supporting measures to continue these improvements.”

Quotes attributable to Senator for Tasmania Anne Urquhart
“The Tasmanian salmon industry delivers good, well-paid jobs for workers, and supports families and regional communities across Tasmania. From fish farms on Macquarie Harbour in Strahan to processing facilities in Devonport, there are hundreds of local jobs that rely on this industry.

“Today’s announcement is about delivering a strong future for fish farming in Macquarie Harbour. We know that engineered oxygenation has worked overseas, and a trial already underway in Macquarie Harbour is showing increasing levels of dissolved oxygen.

“The current oxygenation trial by the Australian Government’s Fisheries Research and Development Corporation and Salmon Tasmania is supporting conservation efforts for the Maugean skate.

“Their work provides the evidence-base for this additional Federal Government investment which will protect the industry and the Maugean skate.

“Labor stands on the side of jobs, and we also stand on the side of sustainability. These two things aren’t contradictory; they go together.”

Media release – Living Oceans, 12 November 2024

World’s largest shareholder vote to save a species

At Coles AGM today, nearly 40% of shareholders rallied against the board’s recommendation and supported a world-first resolution that calls on the company to address the impacts their farmed seafood, such as Macquarie Harbour salmon, has on endangered species like the Maugean skate.

This follows the Woolworths AGM two weeks ago, where shareholders gave one of the highest votes ever on a nature resolution, with over one in three shareholders voting in favour of the resolution.

This has now been surpassed by the even higher vote at Coles, supported by the biggest Australian super funds representing millions of members.

The resolution was led by activist share trading platform SIX together with leading NGOs Environment Tasmania, Neighbours of Fish Farming, and Ēko, as well as leading ethical advice groups Ethinvest, Ethical Investment Advisers and Tasethical.

Kelly Roebuck, Sustainable Seafood Campaign Director at Living Oceans Society and Vice Chair of Environment Tasmania, said “Not one but two high votes at the big supermarkets’ AGMs show that shareholders are losing patience with companies failing to act on nature-related risks. Tasmanians have had to go as far as becoming shareholders and traveling interstate to this AGM to get a message to the board: don’t be associated with the potential extinction of a unique Australian animal.”

Jess Coughlan, Environmental Campaigner at Neighbours of Fish Farming, also attended the AGM and said “What this vote shows is overwhelming support for change. Nature needs it, and shareholders and superfunds are here for it. It is time that Coles and Woolworths step up in this space and help to save the skate.”

Adam Verwey, CEO and co-founder of SIX, said “This is the largest vote for a shareholder resolution anywhere in the world this year. It sends a big message to the boards of the big supermarkets. While the board makes excuses, a species is going extinct. Stopping foreseeable extinctions is the very least shareholders expect when it comes to managing nature risks.”

Media release – Australian Marine Conservation Society and Humane Society International Australia, 12 November 2024

$28 million Maugean skate funding could be better spent rather than big gamble on unproven technology

Endangered Maugean skate is being driven towards extinction in its only home

The $28 million the federal government has announced today to help save the Maugean skate from extinction in its only home in Tasmania’s Macquarie Harbour could be better spent, the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) and Humane Society International Australia (HSI Australia) said.

The government will spend $21 million on the unproven oxygenation program in Macquarie Harbour, $5 million on the Maugean skate captive breeding program and $2.5 million on skate population and environmental monitoring, compliance as well as community engagement.

AMCS Fisheries and Threatened Species Campaign Manager Alexia Wellbelove said: “We are keen to see increased effort to save the Maugean skate from extinction in its only home in Tasmania’s Macquarie Harbour, but this $28 million could be much better spent.

“The endangered Maugean skate is choking to death in Macquarie Harbour because intense salmon farming has stripped the waters of oxygen.

“The federal government is doubling down on unproven technology – spending up to $21 million on an oxygenation program that has yet to prove effective in improving oxygen levels in the harbour.

“The fastest way to improve oxygen levels in the harbour is to remove salmon, as was recommended by the federal government’s draft Conservation Advice – which the government postponed finalising for a year, saying it needed the time to consider submissions.

“The root cause of Macquarie Harbour’s oxygen problem has not been addressed. Salmon biomass has not been reduced in the harbour since the Maugean skate’s plight became known 18 months ago.

“The Australian taxpayer is having to subsidise the salmon industry for its environmental destruction and fund a government gamble on unproven technology.”

HSI Australia marine biologist Lawrence Chlebeck said: “There are only an estimated 40-120 mature skates left in Macquarie Harbour and the Maugean skate is only one more extreme weather event away from extinction. An upturning of deep, oxygen-depleted waters caused by storms in 2019 contributed to wiping out half the skate population, and oxygen levels in Macquarie Harbour are still low. At depths of 5-15 metres where the skate lives, oxygen levels have changed little since 2017, and in some cases have worsened.

“The government announced $5 million for the Maugean skate captive breeding program, but any introduced skates will face the same extreme conditions these last remaining adults face.

“The Albanese government made a commitment to zero new extinctions. We are calling on the government to remove salmon biomass from the harbour to meet its commitment to the skate’s survival.

“Macquarie Harbour is part of Tasmania’s World Heritage Area and integral to the state’s reputation for natural beauty and conservation. The extinction of the Maugean skate would be a devastating blow to Australia’s biodiversity and to Tasmania’s brand and natural heritage.”

Media release – Madeleine Ogilvie, Minister for the Arts and Heritage, 12 November 2024

Environmental funding welcomed

The Tasmanian Government welcomes the Commonwealth’s commitment to improving the health of Macquarie Harbour on Tasmania’s west coast and providing funding for important work with the Maugean skate.

Minister for the Environment, Madeleine Ogilvie, said the Prime Minister’s announcement will build on the existing work that is already underway through the Tasmanian Government’s Skate Recovery Fund, as well as the positive work being done in the waterway as part of the Maugean skate comprehensive Conservation Action Plan.

“Recent studies by the Environment Protection Authority have already found the highest dissolved oxygen levels in a decade in Macquarie Harbour, which demonstrates our efforts are making a difference,” Minister Ogilvie said.

“This followed the latest IMAS report that disputed previous predictions of catastrophic Maugean skate population decline, with juvenile skate numbers consistent with levels recorded in a 2014 baseline study.

“The Tasmanian Government is considering the latest data and continues to engage with key stakeholders on a range of actions to minimise threats to the Maugean skate, while backing in our sustainable salmon industry.

The Tasmanian Government has been firm that salmon farming can co-exist with the Maugean skate in Macquarie Harbour, and our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future continue to back our world-class industry and the thousands of jobs it underpins in our regions.

We remain firm that there is no case for Labor to consider reviewing salmon activities and urge Minister Plibersek to make the right decision for Macquarie Harbour.

Media release – Nick McKim, Greens’ Senator for Tasmania, 12 November 2024

Labor’s Extinction Funding for the Maugean Skate

The Albanese government’s pledge to fund an oxygenation trial in Macquarie Harbour is nothing more than extinction funding for an industry that’s driving the Maugean skate out of existence, the Greens say.

“This is the strongest signal yet that the government has no intention of protecting the Maugean skate from extinction by ending salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour,” said Greens Senator for Tasmania Senator Nick McKim.

“This is a naked play by Labor to win Braddon by prioritising corporate profits over the survival of an ancient species.”

“Labor is sitting back and managing the Maugean skate into extinction rather than saving it by ending salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour.”

“This is simply corporate welfare for an industry that’s destroying the last natural home of a critically endangered species’.”

“We already know that poor water quality, caused directly by salmon farming, is the key threat to the Maugean skate’s survival.”

“This will make it impossible for Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to make an independent decision to save the skate by booting salmon farms out of Macquarie Harbour. Politics has triumphed over science yet again.”

“Water quality trials, monitoring and captive breeding programs don’t change the fact that salmon farming continues to destroy the Maugean skate’s only natural habitat.”

“The government’s own pilot project into the oxygenation trial is not due to report for another twelve months. Senator Urquhart’s claim that oxygenation is working well is pure claptrap.”

“ATO data shows Tasmania’s salmon farming corporations paid zero income tax last year, yet Labor is using public money to clean up their mess.”

Media release – Bob Brown Foundation, 12 November 2024

BBF condemns Federal Government’s 28 million dollar handout to salmon companies as community protest continues against retailers

Today in Hobart, activists from the Bob Brown Foundation have hung a banner over the Sandy Bay Coles to highlight the supermarket giant’s complicity in causing the extinction of the Maugean skate.

Despite meeting with Bob Brown Foundation, Coles has so far refused to stop selling toxic farmed salmon from Macquarie Harbour, where industrial fish farms have a catastrophic impact on the Maugean skate’s survival.

The action comes on the morning of Coles Annual General Meeting, where shareholders have an opportunity to vote on a resolution demanding that Coles stop selling Macquarie Harbour farmed salmon.

“Coles is completely aware that industrial salmon farms in Macquarie Harbour are causing an extinction, yet they refuse to stop selling the product,” said Alistair Allan, Antarctic and Marine campaigner at Bob Brown Foundation.

“Coles has a responsibility to their customers to stop misleading them. Every piece of salmon that Coles sells has ‘responsibly sourced’ on the packaging. There is nothing responsible about causing an extinction.”

“Selling farmed salmon from Macquarie Harbour is like Coles selling rhino horn or ivory. Coles needs to stop profiting from extinction now. It is outrageous that Prime Minister Albanese will give $28 million of taxpayers’ money to cover up the devastating impact of huge multinational companies in Macquarie Harbour who pay zero dollars in taxes,” said Alistair Allan.

“The federal government promised the Australian public no new extinctions, not government handouts to mega-corporations. This money should be used to transition this industry out of Macquarie harbour, thereby saving both the Maugean skate and helping workers,” concluded Alistair Allan.