One of Australia’s leading Southern Right Whale experts, Professor Robert Harcourt, will appear in the Tasmanian Planning Commission today, to present evidence on the risks posed by Tassal’s plans to place industrial aquaculture infrastructure in endangered Southern Right Whale calving habitat.

Yesterday Tassal share price fell by 6.5% after a stockbroker downgraded the stock, and their clients sold out. This was largely in response to the downward trend in global salmon prices, but analysts will be watching fish kills in Macquarie Harbour closely, as the Tasmanian EPA has confirmed an outbreak of the Pilchard Orthomyxovirus (POMV) (1) in Macquarie Harbour on Tasmania’s West Coast and at Huon Aquaculture leases in the South East.  

On the eve of an Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) hosted conference on the future of salmon farming in Australia, Tasmania's peak environment group has released a report card rating Australia’s big three salmon companies take-up of new technologies. Given the biosecurity threats and physical constraints on growth that are hampering expansion in traditional net pen production systems, investment in new technology is the best indication of future growth potential for Australia's largest fisheries companies.  

Following yesterday’s media revelations of mass fish kills in Macquarie Harbour, EPA Director Wes Ford has this morning confirmed a disease outbreak at Tassal and Petuna pens has been a cause of mass mortalities.  

Following today’s revelations of more fish kills in Macquarie Harbour, Environment Tasmania is calling for the immediate release of autopsy results to demonstrate the causes of death of tens of thousands of fish at Petuna, Tassal and Huon leases in Macquarie Harbour.

Environment Tasmania has cautiously welcomed Tassal’s commitment to transition to offshore farming, but has questions about the date for withdrawal from the companies Tinderbox and Okehampton Bay leases and the size of its new Storm Bay farming area.

Environment Tasmania has responded to today's announcement by Petuna that they will install waste traps at their Macquarie Harbour operations, with requests that the EPA immediately release reports that show the impacts of these waste traps on biosecurity, fish welfare and the environment - with sufficient data to meet basic professional reporting standards.

Tasmania’s peak environment group has welcomed Tassal’s retreat from plans to dump their waste back into Macquarie Harbour, but is calling on TasWater to urgently disclose the terms of their waste deal with Australia's largest fisheries company, including the contents of waste to be discharged through the public sewage system.

Environment Tasmania has renewed calls for a moratorium on industrial salmon farming expansion, following today’s announcement by Fisheries Minister, Jeremy Rockliff, that Tassal has been granted a permit to explore expansion of its operations off King Island on Tasmania’s North West.

Environment Tasmania welcomes today’s statement by West Coast Council that it does not support Tassal’s proposal to dump their treated fish farming waste back into Macquarie Harbour.

“Good on these Councillors for standing up to Tassal and acting to protect Macquarie Harbour from further damage,” says Laura Kelly, Strategy Director at Environment Tasmania.