Tasmanians have now finally learned that 2.7 tonnes of florfenicol was dumped into marine waters at a single Huon Aquaculture lease across a two month period, according to an EPA report. Despite dumping this excessive volume of untested antibiotic into just one D’Entrecasteux lease, salmon companies nonetheless failed to prevent huge numbers of salmon mortalities on their farms.
The Greens, local community and wild fishers have been asking questions for months about how much florfenicol was being used by salmon companies, and the EPA has finally revealed part of the total figure. On the reporting for Huon Aquaculture’s Zuidpool lease, between 12 November 2025 and 10 January 2026, 2.7 tonnes of florfenicol were recorded as being released.
It’s a truly staggering amount of antibiotics going into the marine environment, especially for an antibiotic that has never been used or tested in Tasmanian waters. Tasmanians won’t know the total amount of florfenicol used by the salmon industry until the EPA releases further monitoring reports.
Last week, the EPA confirmed florfenicol levels were still above reportable limits at two sites where treatment had occurred. This is a very concerning indication the antibiotic is persisting for long periods in the environment.
Despite the industry’s use of florfenicol, they still recorded 9 000 tonnes of salmon mortalities over the first three months of this year. The excessive tonnes of antibiotics used hasn’t stopped large salmon mortalities, which the industry and government claimed would occur.
The salmon industry is dismissive of reasonable concerns about the wider impacts of the antibiotic, and the threats to the viability of wild fish export industries. It is up to the Liberal Government to regulate and require companies to remove diseased fish from pens, instead of allowing a continuing antibiotic drip feed into marine waterways.
