In follow up to an article published in The Saturday Paper 5 April 2025, freelance journalist and Walkley Award winner Gabriella Coslovich, delves deeper into the biosecurity standards that have allowed the outbreak of Piscirickettsia salmonis to surge across south-east Tasmania, killing thousands of tonnes of farmed salmon.
Scientists warned the Tasmanian government of the risk of catastrophic disease-related fish deaths across the state’s salmon farms as early as 2017, noting the biosecurity standards governing the industry needed to be significantly increased.
Instead of boosting biosecurity, however, the government, under pressure from the salmon industry, weakened several standards and provided many exemptions to the new biosecurity program introduced in 2023 writes Coslovich.
The Saturday Paper second article (paywalled):
