Southern fish war looms
SOUTHERN Beaches and Tasman Peninsula residents who are concerned about two salmon pens recently installed in Norfolk Bay have held their second mass meeting.
More than 100 people gathered in Dodges Ferry yesterday to express their frustrations about the lack of public consultation sought by Huon Aquaculture before the move.
The group called for a ban on any salmon farming expansions until independent scientific research into the damage they cause had been conducted.
The Norfolk Bay lease was approved as a salmon harvesting site by the EPA on August 17, with fish reportedly moved from Storm Bay into two onsite pens on Wednesday.
The salmon were relocated because they had previously been infected with pilchard orthomyxovirus and could still be carriers, making them a risk to juvenile salmon recently stocked into the lower Huon River and D’Entrecasteaux Channel.
The disease, along with stress and low oxygen, killed more than 1.3 million fish in Macquarie Harbour in the six months from October 2017.
Huon said they would only use the lease for three months in an effort to improve biosecurity, but their licence does not expire until December 31.
Mark Duncan, owner and operator of Dodges Ferry fishing charter company Mr Flathead, said it was “too much, too soon, too fast”.
“It’s the wrong place for salmon farming, it’s going to be akin to the disaster in Macquarie Harbour,” he said.
“There’s been zero public consultation and the whole community is outraged.”
Sailor Sheenagh Neill said the boating community had discussed holding a flotilla pro- test around the pens if the State Government didn’t step up and act.
“I’m not against salmon farmers but they are allowing too much rubbish out of their fish farm leases into the marine waterways,” she said.
“This Government is absolutely hellbent on going ahead and doing whatever it wants and not listening to the community. But we’re not going away, so Will you better listen.
Greens’ Environment spokeswoman Rosalie Woodruff said the party would this week move in Parliament to have the permit revoked.
“This is on top of seagrass meadows, home to dolphins, migratory whales, threatened eagles, baby sharks and flat- head and habitat for the critically endangered red handfish,” she said
“It is a lease that has never held finfish, bought over a decade ago, and rushed through an internal development approval and EPA sign-off.”
Primary Industries and Water Minister Sarah Courtney said the permit was only short-term and Huon would have to do environmental monitoring.
A Huon spokesman said they did not attend the meetings but would continue to engage directly with stakeholders and the community.
Further information is available at: www.huonaqua.com.au/ huons- proposal- temporarilyharvest-salmon-norfolk-bay/