Premier again backs salmon farms as protesters visit site of dead fish wash up
A month on from salmon residue washing ashore, opponents to industrial fish farming have gathered at the Tasmanian beach location to repeat their call for the industry to be shut down.
The protest event, at Verona Sands, south of Hobart, comes weeks after pieces of Atlantic salmon, including what was described at the time at “chunks” of fish, were found on the foreshore, with images posted by the Bob Brown Foundation.
The detritus came from nearby salmon farming enclosures; the result of a mass mortality event caused by a bacterial outbreak.
An aerial view of the Verona Sands protest rally. (Supplied: Neighbours of Fish Farming)
Pieces of farmed Atlantic salmon were washing up on Bruny Island and other beaches. (Supplied: Bob Brown Foundation)
Tasmania’s salmon industry has been hit hard by a disease outbreak. (Supplied: Bob Brown Foundation)
Huon says more than 20 staff cleared the shore. (Supplied: Huon)
The wash-up of salmon pieces was followed by vision being released of salmon farm workers putting diseased live fish into tubs with dead fish and sealing them — something which caused the RSPCA to suspend its “approved farming” certification from Huon Aquaculture.
At the time Salmon Tasmania, the industry’s peak body, apologised for the disease outbreak and said the vision of the disposal of live fish “does not represent normal operations procedures or the animal welfare standards expected of the industry”.
At Sunday’s event, organised by the anti-salmon campaigning group Neighbours of Fish Farming (NOFF), attendees heard speeches by long-time opponents of the industry, including author Richard Flanagan and federal Independent candidate for Franklin Peter George, who is also the founder of NOFF.
Deena White attended the rally at Verona Sands, her first in-person protest, she says. (ABC News: Meg Whitfield)
For Deena White, the anti-salmon protests are less a political issue and more about what she described as “transparency”.
She said she had been “involved in the online movement” for a while, but the recent problems affecting local beaches had compelled her to show up in person.
“This is a private business profiteering off the area and we haven’t been provided enough information, there hasn’t been the backing and listening to the people,” Ms White said.
“People really want action. People want the information.
“Whether you support the government, whether you support the Greens, Labor, Liberal, whoever, we want the information, we want the transparency, the accountability.“
Karen Keats says she does not approve of how salmon are farmed. (ABC News: Meg Whitfield)
Attendee Karen Keats said she was worried about the effects of salmon farming on Tasmanian waterways.
“I’m a fisher person myself. I like that we can catch our native fish [but] the pollution that is affecting our native environment is a disaster,”
Ms Keats said.
She said fish should be industrially farmed further out to sea “so the effluent is distributed in a way that is not affecting our native fish species”.
She also said the “way they treat fish in a cage is like battery hen farming”.
Damien Pocock says the sight of dead fish on beaches has galvanised opposition to fish farming. (ABC News: Meg Whitfield)
Damien Pocock said the recent incidents of “fat balls, the skeletons of the fish” being found on beaches had a “really concrete effect on people”.
“A lot of the time it’s just hearsay and what people are saying and rumour and chatting. But to see it on the beach, yeah it’s pretty disgusting,” Mr Pocock said.
Following the incident at Verona Sands in February, industry peak body Salmon Tasmania said the industry was “dealing with an unprecedented, first of its size, seasonal mortality event in the south-east”.
“It’s been a concerning time for our surrounding communities, and we apologise for the impact and want to assure everyone we are doing everything to fix this and make changes for the future,” chief executive Luke Martin said in March.
Salmon Tasmania addressed the footage of the live fish being disposed of by saying what was depicted in the video “does not represent normal operations procedures or the animal welfare standards expected of the industry”.
Salmon Tasmania declined to comment on Sunday’s protest rally.
On Sunday, Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff said a “great majority of Tasmanians support the salmon industry”.
“My expectation is all salmon companies and all those that invest in the salmon industry do so in a very responsible way, do so while complying with all the regulations and do so while continuing to maintain growth in the industry and employing many thousands of people,” Mr Rockliff said.
“My view is that the great majority of Tasmanians support the salmon industry, just like the great majority of Tasmanians support our farmers, support our fishers, support our miners and support our foresters.“
Prior to the issues in Tasmania’s south, both Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton have pledged their support for the industry to continue operating out of Macquarie Harbour.
Tasmanian Labor Leader Dean Winter said “no one wanted to see what’s happening at the moment”.
“This is bad for the industry, bad for the environment, but what we’ve really seen is a lack of leadership from government and a lack of communication,” Mr Winter said.
“I don’t think we’ve seen the leadership from the government providing clear advice, and nor do I think the communication from the EPA has been very good.“
Salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour was facing uncertainty with federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek currently considering whether to review salmon farming licenses due to the effects of industrial aquaculture practices on the endangered Maugean skate.
