Rotting salmon flesh at Verona Sands – Three potential EPA licence breaches

Despite promises of increased regulation by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), three major environmental issues with salmon farms have been picked up in three days by Neighbours of Fish Farming (NOFF).

NOFF has written urgently to Wes Ford, outgoing Director of the EPA, seeking answers and demanding penalties for salmon farming companies in breach of the licences.

1) Footage sourced by the Bob Brown Foundation shows a clear breach of licence conditions with rotting salmon carcass remains streaming off the suction barge into the marine environment at Creeses Mistake - A Tassal lease near the Tasman Peninsula. Seals can be seen gorging on the rotting flesh. A breach of the general license conditions. The footage was released on Friday 14th February 2025

2) The local community at Verona Sands, on the Huon River mouth are furious at the rotting biological matter washed up on the shore, polluting a much-loved and usually pristine beach. The organic matter, thought to be rotting salmon flesh, has also been found within the Ninepin Marine Reserve at the south eastern end of Verona Sands. The beach is within sight of the south of Zuidpool Rock Huon Aquaculture lease, sparking concerns that the pollution could contain antibiotics and disease. The pollution event occurred early in the morning of Sunday 16th February and persisted throughout the day.

3) Salmon farming licences across the state lapsed for a period of 42 days, expiring on November 30 2024, and not renewed until January 16 2025, causing doubt over whether accurate mortality data statewide will be captured for the full length of the season.

"It's simply not good enough to be claiming rigorous regulation when pollution and oversight at this level are happening in our public waterways," says Jess Coughlan, Campaigner at Neighbours of Fish Farming.

"NGOs should not have to be carrying out surveillance and effectively doing the EPA's job. As regulator, the EPA have the resources and responsibility to monitor and enforce licence conditions, rather than relying on self-reporting by industry."

"Residents at Verona sands have every right to be outraged at the pollution which is causing a revolting stench, with possible health ramifications. NOFF demands that the EPA carries out an immediate investigation into who is responsible, how it happened under the EPA regulations, and whether the pollution contains antibiotics or other chemicals that have the potential to cause harm."

"While we welcome the new "mandatory mortality by weight" reporting conditions now in place statewide (formerly only Macquarie Harbour required this level of reporting), it seems convenient that in a horror summer like the one we are in, the regulator would exclude 42 days of data collection through mere oversight - data which would contribute to a real time, full scale assessment of the welfare issues and sustainability concerns within the salmon industry as it currently operates."

• All comments attributed to Jess Coughlan, noff7112@gmail.com, 0431684741
• Jess will be available for media at 12noon Parliament lawns Monday 17 February 2025

And here is the Bob Brown Federation video footage of cleaning up after a mortality incident: