Tasmanian crossbenchers say that an upcoming review of the salmon industry needs to examine all environmental regulations and oversight measures, following the deaths of wildlife at a Tassal site.<\/p>\n
WARNING: This story contains images of dead animals.<\/p>\n
An Australian fur seal was found dead at the bottom of a pen at Tassal’s West of Wedge lease \u2014 near White Beach on the Tasman Peninsula \u2014 on June 13, after staff attempted to sedate it for removal a week earlier.<\/p>\n
Details of its death \u2014 and the deaths of 15 cormorants at the same site \u2014 were released under right to information (RTI) to the Tasmanian Inquirer, with Tassal only publicly reporting the numbers of wildlife deaths, but not the circumstances.<\/p>\n
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Data shared by NRE Tasmania shows that Tasmanian salmon companies have reported 42 dead seals within lease boundaries since January 2021. (Supplied: Bob Brown Foundation)<\/p>\n
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The Australian fur was found dead at the bottom of the Tassal salmon pen. (Supplied: NRE Tasmania)<\/p>\n
The documents show the seal was spotted in the pen with another seal on June 6, one of which was able to be sedated and removed with midazolam, but the other remained.<\/p>\n
A second attempt was made on June 13, with the seal hit by two sedative darts.<\/p>\n
“The seal was not noted to resurface after this \u2026 it was found to be dead at the bottom of the pen,” the report reads.<\/p>\n
A necropsy report did not identify a cause of death, but significant lung damage was noted.<\/p>\n
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The seal was hit by sedative darts in an attempt to remove it from the Tassal pen. (Supplied: NRE Tasmania)<\/p>\n
It’s the 42nd seal to die at Tasmanian fish farms since the start of 2021.<\/p>\n
Tassal has been operating its West of Wedge site since 2020, and in its planning documents, said that “sanctuary pens” would be used at the lease.<\/p>\n
“To date, these pens have proven 100 per cent effective at stopping seals from preying on salmon,” the document reads.<\/p>\n
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Tassal’s West of Wedge “sanctuary pens” are located in Storm Bay in south-east Tasmania. (Supplied: The List Tasmania)<\/p>\n
Cormorants also killed<\/p>\n
The RTI documents also detail the deaths of 15 cormorants at the same site, less than a week after the seal death.<\/p>\n
Ten were found at the bottom of the fish pen, and five were entangled in a splash fence.<\/p>\n
The documents note that walkways are meant to be available for the birds to escape due to them becoming too heavy to fly after feeding on the fish, but that the walkway was covered with a net at the time.<\/p>\n
“It is assumed the birds drowned due to lack of access to escape ramp,” the documents read.<\/p>\n
It also points out that there was no bird net in use at the pen.<\/p>\n
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Images of a bird escape walkway were included in the RTI documents. (Supplied: NRE Tasmania)<\/p>\n
In its approval documents, Tassal had promised to use bird nets at all of its pens to avoid bird predation.<\/p>\n
A Tassal spokesperson said it has carried out “upgrades to marine infrastructure” to decrease interactions with wildlife.<\/p>\n
“We are continuing to invest in new innovations and equipment to keep wildlife and our people safe,” the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
Tassal did not respond to a question about whether a bird net was in use at the West of Wedge site, and if it had engaged with the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE) about infrastructure improvements since the deaths.<\/p>\n
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A correspondence between a Tassal employee (left) and a Tasmania NRE employee (right). (Supplied: NRE Tasmania)<\/p>\n
A department spokesperson said these discussions had occurred.<\/p>\n
“NRE Tas has met with Tassal to discuss further measures to prevent such wildlife incidents in the future at this lease,” they said.<\/p>\n
“NRE Tas undertakes routine compliance assessment of marine farming infrastructure, including bird netting where relevant.”<\/p>\n
Crossbenchers, Greens voice concerns<\/p>\n