Tassal to exceed fish limits
TASSAL will exceed the proposed biomass cap for Macquarie Harbour in the second half of this year, because of the amount of salmon already in the water.
The company expects to exceed the 14,000 tonne cap proposed by the Environment Protection Authority from as early as mid-June until December this year, when it begins the harvest.
However, a Tassal spokes- ALEXANDRA HUMPHRIES woman said the company understood that environmental compliance would need to be strictly maintained at its two Macquarie Harbour leases throughout the period.
The current cap of 14,000 tonnes of salmon permitted in the harbour will expire on April 30, however the proposed biomass cap for the period from May 1 is the same.
EPA director Wes Ford has said the new cap will not be finalised for a few weeks.
Tassal said it was proposing a transition to the new biomass cap in a way that would not compromise the environment, fish welfare or the community.
“Tassal is proposing to pull forward its current stock of fish harvesting to December 2017,” the spokeswoman said. “This will result in an exceedence of the proposed future biomass limit for a temporary period of eight months.”
The smolt entered the water when the previous cap of 20,000 tonnes applied, making Tassal compliant with the biomass cap at the time.
The company completed a destocking of its Franklin lease in the harbour this month and said its remaining leases were at 100 per cent compliance with environmental standards according to its most recent scientific data, which had not yet been publicly released.
The EPA said it had discussed “a range of mitigation measures” with Tassal regarding fish which “are likely to exceed the proposed biomass limit”.
The measures include the collection of fish waste from beneath pens, removal of fish faeces and excess feed from the sea floor, and removal of waste from the harbour.
Huon Aquaculture’s court case against regulators over previous biomass decisions and the state of the harbour returned to the Federal Court yesterday, where Tassal and Petuna Aquaculture were accepted as respondents. The court ordered respondents to file their defence by June 1.