Watchdog group Safe Water Hobart emailed the Chief Inspector of Primary Produce at Biosecurity Tasmania and Food Safety Tasmania earlier this month.
“Our concerns specifically related to preventing diseased salmon from being harvested during the salmon industry’s mass mortality event this summer,” said Dr Frank Nicklason, President of Safe Water Hobart. “We have had no response.”
Concerns have been raised from many sources that infected, diseased, moribund and dead salmon from Tasmanian farms are being processed and sold for human consumption.
Both the Tasmanian Government and the salmon industry itself have admitted that diseased fish are harvested for human consumption.
The Chief Veterinary Officer admitted in writing on 1 April to Craig Garland MP: “The use of moribund fish is for each company to determine in the context of their quality control systems.”
Luke Martin, failed and now-departed CEO of Salmon Tasmania, when asked by The Saturday Paper (5 April) if they were harvesting from diseased pens, replied, “Yes, absolutely, and that’s standard.”
The harvesting of diseased fish for human consumption is explicitly prohibited by state and federal food safety legislation.
“Tasmanians are getting the runaround from buck-passing government departments, and meanwhile, instead of sending their diseased fish to landfill, they are being dumped on the shelves of Coles and Woolworths,” Dr Nicklason said.
The Director of Public Health stated in a letter on to Safe Water Hobart:
“If the Department of Health is advised by NRE that unsuitable food has been supplied to into the marketplace, the Food Act 2003 can be used to manage the issue.”
However, Dr Nicklason pointed out the conflict of interest embedded in this situation: “NRE is the very same Department allowing the harvesting of diseased fish in the first place – why would they turn themselves in?”
Under the Public Health Act, the Director of Public Health is required to have both a medical degree and qualifications in public health. In contrast, the Chief Inspector of Primary Produce requires no specialist qualifications relating to human health.
“I find it peculiar that the Director of Public Health must defer to a Departmental official who has no qualifications relating to the human health issues involved in selling diseased salmon,” commented Dr Nicklason.
“Safe Water Hobart is concerned that the Tasmanian government is failing to uphold its own legislation, seemingly to protect the salmon industry. Public Health is sidelined. Not enough has been done to protect salmon consumers. We call for the existing law that probits the sale diseased animal products for human consumption to be upheld. Diseased fish should be pulled from shelves now.”
“Selling diseased salmon is selling roadkill. It might be ‘safe’ to eat if cooked, but it is unsuitable to sell under a myriad of food legislation at state and national levels.”
Safe Water Hobart provided the following documentation to Tasmanian Times regarding their enquiries.
Mr. Chris Lyall
Manager (Product Integrity)
Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania
[email protected] and [email protected]
Dear Mr Lyall
Concerns have by raised from several sources that infected/diseased salmon from Tasmanian farms are being processed and sold for human consumption. This concern has been flagged during the latest mass salmon mortality event (MME), but it may have occurred for 10 years or more.
Huon aquaculture has been implicated in this practice. Safe Water Hobart does not discount the possibility that the other 2 major salmon companies also harvest infected/diseased fish unsuitable for human consumption.
Our reading of the Safe Food Act and of the Primary Produce Safety Acts is that infected/diseased fish are, by these Acts, are deemed “unsuitable” for human consumption. Sale of infected/diseased fish is illegal- this is regardless of whether such fish are, or are not, harmful for humans to eat.
Please note the articles in The Saturday Paper of April 5 and April 12-18
Please advise us,
- When and on what dates, and at which pens/leases/barges or factory sites were inspections by members of NRE conducted of the processes at Huon Aquaculture following the most recent publicised mass mortality event? – And,
- Have there been more such events recently, since March 2025 (for example in Storm Bay -or near Bruny Island) and did your staff inspect what Huon aquaculture did with the dead and diseased salmon? And,
- Did you or your staff observe diseased and/or incorrectly slaughtered salmon being processed for human consumption? And,
- Did you receive advice from any operators, workers, or members of the public that dead, dying (moribund) or diseased and/or incorrectly slaughtered salmon were being processed for human consumption?
- What is the normal protocol followed by inspectors following MME in ALL such events? And,
- How many NRE staff are employed to undertake these inspection tasks, and what are their titles, training and required qualification standards?
- Are the any audits or inspections of pens, leases, barges, factory sites by accredited inspectors/auditors from interstate?
- What evidence of potential food unsuitability would lead you to make a notification of concern to the Director of Public Health?
- In the setting of a mass salmon mortality event due to an infectious cause, on what basis or with what evidence would you NOT consider it necessary/appropriate to refer to the Director of Public Health concerns about the suitability of salmon harvested from infected/diseased pens for human consumption?
- Who does the Chief Inspector of Primary Produce take advice from, specifically regards when to refer concerns about food suitability for human consumption to the Director of Public Health?
- What medical/human health advice have you sought during the recent MME, specifically regarding the need to refer to the Director of Public Health?
- Have you sought legal advice on this matter during this MME?
Yours sincerely
Dr. Frank Nicklason FRACP
President
Safe Water Hobart
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