Aquaculture operations in Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania. (Photo: M. Murphy)

Huon initiates legal actions against Tasmanian government

AUSTRALIA
Monday, February 06, 2017, 22:20 (GMT + 9)

Salmon producer, Huon Aquaculture, has decided to bring the Tasmanian Government to court because it considers that it fails to adequately protect Macquarie Harbour.

The company filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against the director of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), Wes Ford, and the Minister of Primary Industries, Jeremy Rockliff, in which it requested that the EPA ruling issued in January stating that the harbour could safely stock 14,000 tonnes of salmon be declared invalid.

The company claims stronger regulation and enforcement of marine farming regulations, at both the federal and state levels, and it has stated is not seeking damages from the government.

Last year the industry was hit with growing concerns about its sustainability and transparency amid fears that the pristine region was under stress due to salmon farms.

Huon executive director, Frances Bender, explained, “Our view is that the recent biomass determination made by the EPA director fails to properly regulate marine farming in Macquarie Harbour, and will cause ongoing environmental harm.”

When Ford announced his determination, he said it was based on Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS)’s research, the existance of low levels of dissolved oxygen, the presence of Beggiatoa species, and the decline in benthic fauna near the farms, The Mercury informed.

The company pointed out that EPA changed the allocation method between the three marine farmers, Huon, Tassal and Petuna, from a “tonnes per hectare” to a “percentage of current stock” each farmer has when it set the biomass cap last month.

Bender stressed the biomass should not exceed 10,000 tonnes.

Macquarie Harbour regulations also require that there are no significant visual impacts from salmon farming on the harbour floor at or beyond 35m from a lease boundary.

However, the executive argued that the impacts extended for hundreds of metres from some leases, and had also been found inside the World Heritage area boundary.

Environmental organizations have expressed satisfaction with the legal action initiated by Huon, because they claim that the biomass cap has been too big for too long.

Other salmon farming companies in the region, such as Petuna and Tassal have not joined the action.

[email protected]
www.seafood.media

Print