TISC Calls for UNESCO Action on Macquarie Harbour Environmental Crisis

16 April 2024

In response to urgent appeals by environmental groups and the Tasmanian Independent Science Council (TISC), UNESCO has contacted the Albanese government to address the severe impacts of salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour that threaten the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area and the endangered Maugean skate.

TISC's recent letter to UNESCO underscores the Australian government’s critical failure to conduct thorough environmental assessments and calls for immediate measures to protect the area’s unique ecosystem. Aquaculture licences are currently under review by Minister Tanya Plibersek.

Read the Media Release below:

Urgent threat to the heritage value of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area

EPBC Act review of salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour

2 February 2024

The operation of intensive salmon aquaculture in Macquarie Harbour since its expansion in 2012 has had severe impacts on Matters of National Environmental Significance that are protected under the EPBC Act.

Based on the evidence set out below, we strongly recommend that the 2012 decision to enable the expansion of marine farming in Macquarie Harbour, on the basis that it was Not a Controlled Action if undertaken in a Particular Manner, be revoked and substituted with a new decision. 

This activity has resulted in significant degradation of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area values and has also been a major factor in the precipitous decline in the population of the now critically endangered Maugean skate.

Read the Submission below:

Tasmanian Independent Science Council submission regarding the Federal reconsideration of the 2012 EPBC Act Decision on Marine Farming Expansion, Macquarie Harbour (2012/6406).

Image @ Eric J Woehler

Tasmania's Threatened Species Strategy Review

December 2023

Tasmania, as with mainland Australia, is in an extinction crisis. Over the next few decades, climate change will compound and exacerbate existing threats to our threatened species, and we will see a rapid increase in species extinctions. Further, there are already species that were once common that are currently experiencing rapidly decreasing populations. Tasmania currently has 700 listed threatened species, but this number is likely to increase substantially in the near future. 

If the Tasmanian government is serious about protecting threatened species, then we need to see extensive legislation change, substantial investment and action. As such, we think a stronger Vision statement for the strategy is needed, one that commits to strong action, such as that of “No New Extinctions” adopted by the Federal Government. We must prioritise reversing species’ decreases, rather than merely minimising them.

Read the Submission below:

Tasmania’s Threatened Species Strategy

Image @ Eric J Woehler

Industry Impacts on Threatened Species Ignored

7 September 2023

On threatened species day a number of Recovery Plans and Conservation Advices were released by the Federal Government for some of the nation’s most at risk species. For Tasmania, this included a recovery plan for the Swift Parrot and a conservation advice for the Maugean skate, both  endangered species. 

However, the management recommendations for both species differ substantially. Advice for the skate recommends, “significantly reducing fish biomass” in Macquarie Harbour, which properly addresses the main threat. But the Recovery Plan for the Swift Parrot does not require any changes to existing forestry practices, despite scientists identifying native forest logging as the key threat to the species for many years.

Read the Media Release below:

Independent scientists call on the Government to properly regulate the impact of industry on threatened species

FACT CHECK OF SALMON TAS REPORT: The Tasmanian Salmon industry: a vital social and economic contributor.

15 August 2023

This report assesses Salmon Tasmania’s recent publication on the social and economic impact of the Tasmanian salmon aquaculture industry. It draws on the underlying report to Salmon Tasmania by Deloitte, and the preceding background report ‘Salmonid Aquaculture Production’ published by the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies.

The Tasmanian Independent Science Council has reviewed economic claims made by Salmon Tasmania and finds that the claims are misleading and overstate the economic and social contribution of the industry. 

“Now that all three salmon producers are under foreign ownership, industry finances and economic contributions have become even more opaque. Salmon Tasmania has missed an opportunity to provide the Tasmanian public with a transparent, holistic analysis that accounts for all social, economic and environmental costs and benefits of the industry,” says report author Dr Graeme Wells.

Read the Media Release below:

Salmon industry overstates economic impact

Read the Full Report below:

Fact Check of Salmon Tasmania’s report – The Tasmanian Salmon industry: a vital social and economic contributor.