Independent Senator Jacqui Lambie is advocating for the disbandment of Tasmania’s salmon industry in Macquarie Harbour on the state’s remote west coast, escalating a longstanding dispute with significant implications for the upcoming federal election.
Speaking to the Tasmanian Inquirer, Senator Lambie stated, “Macquarie Harbour has been a very hot, hot issue when it comes to the salmon industry for many, many years, and it’s getting worse.”
Lambie’s recommendation is to relocate the fish farms entirely. “Get them out of the Macquarie Harbour. You’ve got waterways everywhere. Go and put them somewhere else … put them out further in the sea. They just don’t want to do it, because it costs those salmon companies more money,” she said.
Her call to action follows a period where approximately 10% of salmon in Macquarie Harbour died over seven months, and disease-ridden salmon farms on Tasmania’s south-east coast have caused mass mortalities, resulting in dead salmon being dumped into landfills. The country’s Environment Protection Authority acknowledged it lacks information on the true extent of these fish deaths.
Macquarie Harbour and the nearby town of Strahan fall within the federal electorate of Braddon, which is currently occupied by the retiring Liberal MP Gavin Pearce with an 8% margin. The Labour party is aiming to claim this volatile constituency, with Senator Anne Urquhart vying for a transition into the lower chamber.
Macquarie Harbour serves as the exclusive habitat to the endangered Maugean skate, an ancient ray-like species threatened by salmon farming activities that decrease oxygen levels and contribute to sea floor pollution.
Embedded video of baby skates near the brink of extinction
In 2023, it was estimated that there could be as few as 40 to 120 adult Maugean skates remaining; however, a subsequent study posited that the population might have rebounded to levels akin to those in 2014. Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek is mulling over the possibility of reclassifying the species as critically endangered, following contradictory expert recommendations. This decision is overdue from its originally scheduled consideration in October.
“Go and put them on land. Go and put your fish somewhere else. I’ve had a gutful. You’ve made more than enough money off the arse of Tasmania. Move it on.”
Senator Jacqui Lambie
Last October, a collective of 30 scientists urged for the cessation of the salmon industry in the harbor. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged to safeguard the industry with salmon-specific legislation and has committed to $37 million in federal funds to boost oxygenation in the harbor and to support a breeding program for the skate.
Lambie describes herself as “pro-salmon farming” but criticizes the federal funding as a fruitless expenditure to rectify the environmental “mess” left by the three foreign-owned companies leading salmon production: Tassal, Huon Aquaculture, and Petuna Seafoods.
