News

Action to halt the outrageous misuse of antibiotics in the Atlantic salmon industry in Tasmania must be implemented urgently. Tasmania's peak marine protection body, TAMP, says there's now clear evidence that the multinational salmon companies have captured the Federal regulator of antibiotic use in animals.

Tasmania's major political parties must declare to voters whether they will continue to allow massive dumps of antibiotics by the salmon industry into public waters. News that hundreds of kilos of antibiotics have again been dumped into diseased salmon cages, resulting in wildfish harbouring antibiotic residues almost five times the legal limit,...

Tasmania's largest salmon company, Tassal, has revealed wild fish at one of its farms contained antibiotic residues at almost five times the allowed level. In another case, there were low-level antibiotic traces in wild fish caught more than seven kilometres from another Tassal salmon farm.

We cannot simply just swallow the salmon industry's spin – there is a better way. Being the best of the worst is nothing to crow about when it comes of fish farming, argues former EPA board member Louise Cherrie, writing in The Mercury, 21 February 2024 (paywalled):

The stunning hypocrisy of the national AWU wading into the controversy over Macquarie Harbour is predictable and desperate. (The Mercury, Feb 12, 2024). With a state election looming, the AWU is less interested in looking after the long-term welfare of West Coast workers than in short-term political gain.

The overwhelming evidence from scientists who have studied the health of Macquarie Harbour for many years clearly demonstrates the drastic impact of the Atlantic salmon industry on the waterway's health and the declining population of Maugean skate.

In response media statements by Luke Martin, lobbyist for Salmon Tasmania, the following statement is issued on behalf of TAMP: