{"id":494860,"date":"2026-02-21T14:58:27","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T14:58:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/494860\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T14:58:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T14:58:27","slug":"salmon-industry-facing-florfenicol-ban-after-antibiotic-found-in-marine-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/494860\/","title":{"rendered":"Salmon industry facing florfenicol ban after antibiotic found in marine life"},"content":{"rendered":"

The salmon industry could lose access to a key antibiotic after traces were detected in marine life more than 10 kilometres from fish farms.<\/p>\n

Federal authorities have moved to suspend Tasmania\u2019s salmon farms from using florfenicol after new data showed the drug had spread far beyond treatment sites.<\/p>\n

The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority granted an emergency permit in November 2025 to combat a P. salmonis outbreak that killed at least four million salmon.<\/p>\n

But data from the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies this week found very low levels of the antibiotic in lobsters, abalone, sea urchins, whelks and bryozoans across southeastern waters.<\/p>\n

\"\"Tasmania\u2019s salmon farms are facing antibiotic suspension. Image \/ File<\/p>\n

The furthest detection was at Standaway Bay, approximately 10.6km from treatment sites.<\/p>\n

APVMA has given the industry until Monday 2 March to provide evidence to satisfy trade criteria or face suspension of the permit.<\/p>\n

\"\"Independent MP Peter George has called for a complete ban on antibiotics. Image \/ Pulse (File)<\/p>\n

Independent MP Peter George said the findings were \u201cabsolutely clear\u201d evidence the antibiotic should be banned.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere can be no legitimate reason for polluting our waterways,\u201d George said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have spoken to the rock lobster people, I\u2019ve spoken to the abalone people. They don\u2019t want to speak in public, but they are furious and they are very worried.\u201d<\/p>\n

George said antibiotic resistance was a major global health concern, with more Australians dying from antibiotic-resistant infections than road accidents.<\/p>\n

\"\"Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff is demanding the state government withdraw support for the antibiotic. Image \/ Pulse (File)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest threat to human health is antibiotic resistance,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

State Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff says the state government \u201cmust act\u201d and withdraw support for the use of the antibiotic.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact the federal regulator has moved to suspend the use of florfenicol, yet the Rockliff government continues to fully back the industry using the product, is shocking,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cRather than continuing to prioritise the profits of the multinational corporations that run Tasmania\u2019s salmon farms, the Liberals need to put our waterways, communities and critical wild catch export industries first.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Tasmania\u2019s salmon farms are facing antibiotic suspension. Image \/ Pulse (File)<\/p>\n

A state government spokesperson said the usage of florfenicol \u201cis regulated by the federal government through the APVMA\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will continue the comprehensive testing regime that is in place and work to support both the salmon and wild fish sectors,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

The state has implemented temporary closures of commercial wild fisheries around recently treated salmon farms as a precaution.<\/p>\n

Salmon Tasmania CEO John Whittington previously defended florfenicol as the \u201cglobal gold-standard\u201d antibiotic for the sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need every available tool in our toolbox to ensure the health of salmon,\u201d he said late last year.<\/p>\n

\"\"Salmon Tasmania CEO John Whittington defended florfenicol when its usage was announced. Image \/ Pulse (File)<\/p>\n

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania said trace levels detected \u201cdo not pose a risk to human health\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, even minimal detections may breach strict international market requirements, potentially affecting Tasmania\u2019s seafood export industries.<\/p>\n

IMAS collected over 840 samples, with 165 showing positive detections at very low levels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The salmon industry could lose access to a key antibiotic after traces were detected in marine life more…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":494861,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-494860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=494860"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494860\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/494861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=494860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=494860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=494860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}