Leading scientists demand salmon ban in Tasmania’s Macquarie Harbour
Some of the nation's most eminent scientists have told Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek that salmon farming in Tasmania's Macquarie Harbour will cause an extinction, and failure to halt it would be unethical and indefensible, reports The Australian (23 October 2024, paywalled).
The Minister has taken over a year so far to decide whether to repeal, amend or continue the 2012 environmental approval for fish pens in the remote harbour in Tasmania's West.
The letter urging the pens to be removed is signed by more than thirty experts, including leaders in marine science, five fellows of the Australian Academy of Science, and the immediate past chair of the independent Federal Threatened Species Scientific Committee.
"We call on you to revoke the 2012 decision that allowed expanded fish-farming and, instead, recognise the science that concludes that unacceptable impacts are occurring in Macquarie Harbour," the letter says. "This revocation and steps to reposition the Macquarie Harbour community are urgently required if the current path to extinction is to be avoided.
"The Maugean Skate is a prime example of the need to defend Australia's unique ecosystems and species, which we have been fortunate to inherit from past generations, so that we can pass them on to future generations. Failing to do so when there are clear paths for action would be unethical and indefensible."
The experts signing the letter include fourteen professors, and marine or aquaculture scientists Stewart Frusher, Maria Byrne, Stephen Battaglene, John M. Pandolfi and Barbara Nowak, Andrew Wright, former executive secretary of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, conservation biologist Professor Hugh Possingham, and former CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere director Tony Worby.
"The extinction of the skate would be contrary to globally accepted norms for sustainable development and be inconsistent with Australia's … international commitments," the letter says.
- The full report is available but paywalled in The Australian, 23 October 2024.