The Maugean skate, a species endemic only to Macquarie Harbour in Tasmania, Australia, has retained its endangered species status, and groups opposed to salmon farming in the harbor have used the announcement as further reason to ban aquaculture in the harbor.
The Maugean skate has been the main catalyst behind years of NGO opposition to salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania. The species has been the driving force behind shareholder resolutions calling for major Australian retailers to stop sourcing salmon from Macquarie Harbour, as groups like Neighbours of Fish Farming (NOFF) and Environment Tasmania call for stronger protections for the species.
The retained status, announced by Minister for the Environment and Water Murray Watt, came after a public request to the minister to uplist the skate from endangered to critically endangered. However, the assessment found that the skate’s status doesn’t meet criteria for the change.
“This decision does not change the need to undertake critical actions for the Maugean skate and its home in Macquarie Harbour,” a media statement from the minister said. “The Australian Government is committed to providing further research and action that will help support recovery of the species.”
Environment Tasmania said the government needs to take critical action and remove salmon biomass from the harbor, and renewed its calls for the government to ban all salmon farming in the harbor. It pointed to the conservation advice for the skate, which states that reduced water quality due to salmon farming is an “almost certain” threat to the species.
“Our Tassie wild fish and our public and globally significant waterways should be prioritized over foreign-owned Atlantic salmon farms,” Environment Tasmania Campaigner Jess Coughlan said in a release. “Now is the time for precautionary-decision making by the Australian Government to save our skate, our world heritage, and the Tasmanian Brand of unique wilderness and wildlife.”
Environment Tasmania is also pointing to a recent court decision in Canada to uphold salmon farm bans in British Columbia as an example to follow in Tasmania.
Tasmania’s salmon industry has long defended its presence in the harbor, and has contributed to solving water quality and dissolved oxygen issues.
