Salmon Farming and the Fight to Save an Endangered Species.
He was a skater boy She said, “see you later, boy”
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Tasmania's salmon industry continues to expand, it would appear, unabated by environmental and stakeholder concerns.
Salmon farms located in the Australian state of Tasmania, were first established in the early 1980’s and saw unprecedented growth between 2004 to 2014. Salmon production in Australia increased by some 25,000 tonnes with the bulk of this being salmon farms in Tasmania.
However, a senate enquiry in 2015 saw regulation of the salmon industry moved to the Tasmanian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) and by 2017 the EPA had imposed reduced stocking rates of 35% due to low levels of dissolved oxygen (DO), a key indicator of water quality, in Macquarie Harbour.
The salmon quantities were reduced again in 2020 by the EPA in the hope of alleviating reduced dissolved oxygen levels. However, the salmon farmers had previously worked out that by increasing the volume of feed, production could be maintained.
So, what does this have to do with our Skater Boy?
The Maugean Skate, was first recorded in 1988 by marine ecologist Graham Edgar, is endemic to Tasmania and…
