MACQUARIE HARBOUR

Tasmanian’s have been farming salmon and ocean trout in Macquarie Harbour for 38-years

Our world class aquaculture industry was pioneered in the waters of Macquarie Harbour on Tasmania’s remote West Coast and the region remains integral to the industry’s footprint across Northern and North-West Tasmania.

Around 9,500 tonnes of salmon will be grown in Macquarie Harbour this year. That is about 13% of total production statewide, and less than half what was sourced from the harbour in 2016.

The industry’s activities in the harbour are monitored and regulated by Tasmania’s Independent Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). Since 2016 the industry has complied with EPA requests to gradually reduce its biomass levels in the harbour to help improve and stabilise Dissolved Oxygen levels. The most recent reporting from the EPA indicates the harbour is in its best condition for over a decade. The industry is very confident it is operating in the harbour at an environmentally sustainable level. In November 2023, the EPA extended the industry’s environmental licenses to operate in the harbour for a further two-years.

A major Tasmanian employer

Aquaculture in Macquarie Harbour is the livelihood of 400 Tasmanian families.

120 Tasmanians are currently employed full-time on the Macquarie Harbour farms. Half of these workers are permanent residents of Strahan, and the rest are drive-in drive-out workers living with their families across the state. To put the industry’s value to the Strahan community in perspective, more than half the students at Strahan’s Primary School this year come from families employed in the salmon aquaculture industry.

A further 140 employees of Tasmania’s three aquaculture companies are engaged in processing and administrative roles across the state directly attributable to the farming on Macquarie Harbour. This includes Petuna and Huon Aquaculture’s processing plants in the Devonport and Latrobe region.

In addition, Macquarie Harbour aquaculture supports a further 130 additional jobs in other Tasmanian businesses across the aquaculture supply chain in Tasmania, including in manufacturing, logistics and feed production.

Research by Deloitte found the salmon industry is responsible for 17% of all employment in the West Coast and Latrobe Local Government Areas, and salmon industry jobs pay up-to 73.9% more than the average jobs in these areas.

The Maugean Skate

First discovered in Bathurst Harbour in Tasmania’s South-West in the late 80s, the Maugean Skate is now believed to be found only in Macquarie Harbour.

The Skate is listed as an endangered species under Tasmanian and Australian environmental laws, and research by the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) indicates the remaining skate population in Macquarie Harbour has declined over recent years.

Macquarie Harbour is a complex marine environment with warming waters, hydro energy, aquaculture, mining legacies, recreational fishing, and introduced species, all influencing the natural habitat for the Skate.

In June 2023, the Australian Government established a National Recovery Task Force made up by scientists and marine experts, representatives of all levels of government, and industries with a presence in Macquarie Harbour, including the Salmon Industry and Hydro, to determine a practical way forward in securing the future for the Skate in its natural habitat.

One of the impacts on the harbour that is affecting the skate is low dissolved oxygen (DO) levels.

skate

Image credit: Fishing Tasmania https://fishing.tas.gov.au/

There are a range of factors influencing the DO levels in the harbour such as:

  • High volume fresh water inputs from Hydro power generation.
  • Treated wastewater from human activity.
  • Rising oceanic water temperature.
  • Mining runoff through river systems.
  • Organic inputs from salmon farming.

For our part, the salmon industry has announced a partnership with the Australian Government’s Fisheries Research & Development Corporation (FRDC), in a major initiative to stimulate DO levels in Macquarie Harbour.

The Macquarie Harbour Oxygenation Program, or MHOP, is an oxygenator positioned on Macquarie Harbour, injecting very high concentrates of DO into

depth. The oxygen is being released through miniscule nano and micro bubbles meaning the oxygen is retained within the harbour system.

This technology is widely used in marine environments throughout the world to manage natural oxygen levels, but this is the first time it will be used in Tasmania for environmental and conservation outcomes.

Learn more about MHOP

Our goal is to trial the technology for 18-months, commencing this 2023/24 summer, with three clear objectives:

  1. Demonstrate the technology works in the unique Macquarie Harbour estuary,
  2. Inject an equivalent amount of DO into the harbour to offset the oxygen drawdown of all aquaculture in the harbour, and
  3. Establish a viable option for regulating oxygen levels in the harbour in dealing with the long-term impact of climate change and warming waters.

IMAS will independently lead the scientific evaluation program, to assess and publicly report on the efficacy and environmental response to the oxygenation trials.

MHOP represents a $6 million investment by the Tasmanian salmon industry and the Australian Government.

What is the uncertainty?

In response to concerns about the Skate, in June, a triumvirate of Activist Non-Government Organisations, the Bob Brown Foundation, Australia Institute, and Environmental Defenders Office requested the federal government “reconsider” a 2012 decision to approve salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour as a ‘Non-Controlled Action’ under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC).

Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has now initiated a formal, legal review of the industry’s approvals under Australian Government environmental law, and has opened consultation to all stakeholders and the public.

What is at risk?

At the end of this review, the Minister could reverse the Australian Government’s 2012 decision and decide Aquaculture in Macquarie Harbour should now be a ‘Controlled Action’.

This means the industry will need to apply for new approvals from the Australian Government to operate as a Controlled Action.

The problem is it could take two years to gain these approvals and it would be technically illegal under Australian law for the industry to operate in the harbour in the meantime.

The industry would need to ‘down tools’ and exit the harbour as soon as practical with animal welfare considerations. This will see jobs lost and massive disruption for our workers in Strahan, and right across Tasmania. It is very difficult to see the industry ever resuming in the harbour.