Media release – Bob Brown Foundation, 14 February 2025
Thousands and thousands of farmed salmon dead and dying at Tassal lease on Tasman Peninsula
Today, Bob Brown Foundation has captured horrific images and video of thousands of dead farmed salmon being pumped out of their factory farm cages at a Tassal owned fish farm lease called Creese’s Mistake, on the Tasman Peninsula.
The footage comes on the heels of mass deaths being reported all around the state only weeks ago.
Bob Brown Foundation is calling on Tassal and Salmon Tasmania to disclose how many tens of thousands of fish have been dying.
“These thousands of farmed salmon are dying because the foreign-owned salmon giants could not care less if they die from disease, water temperatures and overstocking. It’s a disgrace,” said Alistair Allan, Marine Campaigner at the Bob Brown Foundation.
“We received credible information of the bottoms of pens having dead salmon covering the whole cage a foot thick, and we have now seen thousands of dead salmon being pumped out,” said Alistair Allan.
“Every summer, hundreds of thousands of factory farmed salmon die in these crammed pens. Every summer the salmon industry covers this up and refuses to tell the public how many salmon die because they know the public would be outraged. These cover ups must end,” said Alistair Allan.
“As much as 15% to 20% of all farmed salmon die as part of this environmentally and morally bankrupt industry. The closest number of animal deaths in Australian farms I could find was battery cage chickens at 4%. The salmon industry is out of control.”
“This is an industry wide issue and unbelievably the RSPCA still thinks it’s appropriate to certify Tasmanian salmon. They should drop this certification immediately given their mandate to prevent cruelty to animals,” concluded Alistair Allan.
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Media release – Neighbours of Fish Farming (NOFF), 4 December 2024
Salmon industry fears: Consumers will desert us if they know the truth
Multinational Atlantic salmon producers worked to hide mortality numbers in Macquarie Harbour this year, afraid that consumers would be appalled by the huge numbers of deaths.
All three multinationals objected to the release of mortality figures sought by Neighbours of Fish Farming (NOFF) with Huon Aquaculture telling Ombudsman Tasmania that customers and retailers might not buy salmon if they learned how many were dying in their feedlots.
More than a million kilos of salmon died in the Macquarie Harbour pens between September 2023 and March 2024, around 12% of entire production. The exact number of dead fish was not released but likely exceeds a quarter of a million fish. (Based on an average of 4kilos)
Huon Aquaculture, owned by Brazilian giant, JBS, made its concerns clear when it wrote to the Tasmanian Ombudsman opposing a Freedom of Information request from NOFF: “The release of mortality figures is likely to attract considerable public and media attention, with the potential to materially impact customer purchasing behaviour. It is clear from recent experience that retailers, wholesalers and export customers are all sensitive to heightened interest in salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour.”
Huon also complained releasing mortality figures could lead to customers “choosing alternative seafood products in preference to salmon”
The details of the NOFF FoI and subsequent objections by the industry are disclosed in a report by the ombudsman and are reported in the Tasmanian Inquirer.
The Ombudsman’s report also reveals salmon industry concern the news of mortalities could influence the Federal Environment minister’s decisions about whether to order removal of the feedlots from Macquarie Harbour.
“The fundamental dishonesty of the industry and what’s happening in public waterways is on full display here,” says Peter George, NOFF president.
“Consumers expect farming practices to be humane and ethical, none of which apply to an industry that regularly expects mortalities to exceed 10% of livestock and frequently reaches far higher.
“If the industry wasn’t permitted to hide behind lax regulatory disclosure details and claims of commercial-in-confidence, the buying public would be able to make an informed decision not to purchase its product.
“No one would buy beef from a farmer whose fields contained 10 dead rotting cows out of a herd of 100 – and thousands of fish are found dead and rotting in their feedlots.
“Meanwhile, in pursuit of votes, the federal government is pouring subsidies into a fundamentally dishonest, unsustainable and destructive industry that is justifiably ashamed of its animal welfare record.”
