Latest news with #CatherineMurdoch
Perth Now
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
Kilotonnes of dead salmon spark call for farm scrutiny
Almost 10,000 tonnes of farmed salmon died across two months during an unprecedented mass mortality, prompting a renewed call for further scrutiny. Tasmania's salmon industry apologised in March after a spike in deaths at pens in the state's south due to a bacterial outbreak and fish matter washed up on beaches. Some 3395 tonnes of fish died in pens statewide in March, according to the latest data from the state's environmental regulator. This comes after more than 6300 tonnes died in February, with the combined 9695 tonnes comprising about 13 per cent of Tasmania's annual farmed salmon production. The Environmental Protection Authority has declared the unprecedented mortality event over, noting fish deaths had declined by almost half. "Water temperatures are falling and there has been a significant decline in the number of pens above the mortality reporting thresholds in April," the authority's chief executive Catherine Murdoch said. Laws requiring salmon farms to report death tonnage to the regulator, which then makes the numbers public, have only recently been implemented. The regulator said it was unable to provide data about the tonnage of deaths prior to February, while industry body Salmon Tasmania has been contacted for comment. The Greens renewed calls for a parliamentary inquiry, saying more information needed to be made public. "Ten million kilograms of dead fish equates to around 2.5 million mature Atlantic salmon that have suffered a cruel death," Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff said. "However, the (regulator) can't or won't provide an accurate breakdown of which leases these deaths occurred within, or even which region of Tasmania they occurred in. "The unchecked outbreak of disease throughout Tasmania is a biosecurity disaster of unprecedented scale in modern history." Water monitoring no longer detects antibiotics used to treat the disease, the regulator says. Huon Aquaculture, one of the companies caught up in the mass mortality, was stripped of its RSPCA green tick after video captured workers sealing live salmon in tubs with dead salmon. The governing state Liberals and Labor opposition support the industry. The mass mortality event was "really traumatic", Environment Minister Madeleine Ogilvie told state parliament on Tuesday. The regulator says it will continue to receive and monitor data and will publish mortality weight information quarterly.
ABC News
05-05-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Tasmanian salmon deaths halved in March, indicating mass mortality event is over, EPA says
The Tasmanian salmon industry's mass mortality event is over, the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) says, months after dead fish and fatty globules began washing up on beaches in the state's south. The state's environment watchdog says The companies reported 3,395 tonnes of fish waste in March, down from 6,300 in February. The data showed no salmon went into landfill sites in March, with most of the waste going to land spreading and rendering. In March, the peak body for Dead salmon floating in the enclosed fish pens near Southport in February. ( Supplied: Bob Brown Foundation ) In a statement on Tuesday, EPA chief executive Catherine Murdoch said conditions were improving. "Water temperatures are falling and there has been a significant decline in the number of pens above the mortality reporting thresholds in April," Ms Murdoch said. Water quality improves, no antibiotics detected Water quality in the impacted area has also improved, with independent environmental monitoring of water quality conducted by the EPA no longer Photo shows a skip bin with salmon carcasses With Tasmania's salmon companies reeling from unprecedented losses due to disease and warm weather, the industry is told it will face investigation by the Environment Protection Authority. "Water quality and beach sediments at four beaches in the southern D'Entrecasteaux Channel found all samples to be below the detection limit for the antibiotic oxytetracycline," the statement read. "As part of this program, the EPA collected water samples in the last two weeks of March at 10 offshore locations and a significant number of wild fish at four locations within the southern D'Entrecasteaux Channel for analysis and none of these samples detected any antibiotic residues." The EPA had previously reported February's dead fish waste at about 5,500 tonnes, or roughly 6 per cent of the industry's annual production. The dead fish came from pens in the D'Entrecasteaux Channel, in south-eastern Tasmania, owned by Huon Aquaculture and Tassal. Mandated industry reporting on salmon mortalities began earlier this year, with the EPA saying they intend to publish data quarterly going forward.
