Overnight the Australian Government quietly published an extension for assessing whether the ancient Maugean skate should be uplisted from Endangered to Critically Endangered. The assessment was due this Wednesday 30th October 2024, but has now been delayed until 30th Oct 2025.
Only an estimated 40 to 120 adult Maugean skates remain in Macquarie Harbour. The endangered skate is found nowhere else on earth.
Kelly Roebuck, Environment Tasmania Vice Chair said, “This delay, while extremely unfortunate, does not change the fact that the best available independent science indicates the Maugean skate could be extinct in less than 10 years. Nor does it change the fact that the science clearly identifies salmon farming as the primary threat to the skate.”
The Environment Minister is currently reviewing the decision that allowed salmon farming to expand in the harbour in 2012.
“The Minister must act now. A species that teeters on the brink of extinction can’t afford another year of politics,” said Roebuck.
Contact:
Kelly Roebuck
Vice Chair Environment Tasmania
0432 660 064