It’s deeply concerning the new antibiotic Florfenicol has been approved for salmon farming companies to use in Tasmanian waterways.
Heavy use of antibiotics is a ticking time bomb for animal and human health, as it leads to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Florfenicol is previously unused in Australian waters, and we don’t know the impact that broad-scale dumping in public waterways would have on the marine environment and wild fish.
The Liberal Government’s multi-agency review into last summer’s mortality event showed no intention of requiring salmon companies to prevent diseases outbreaks before they occur. Instead, it seems the industry will be allowed to use antibiotics as a standard response when outbreaks occur.
It’s disturbing the Liberals are following the lead of Chile, which has a notorious global reputation in fish farm mismanagement. Their coast’s wild fish stock has completely collapsed as a result of aquaculture industry practices.
We should be to destocking cages to prevent disease outbreak, not dumping hundreds of kilograms of antibiotics into Tasmanian waters after they’ve occurred. The Liberals are putting salmon corporation profits ahead of the marine environment and Tasmanian communities.
The monitoring planned by the EPA to assess the impacts of Florfenicol on marine ecology and wild fish is totally inadequate. The Greens will be doing everything we can to ensure there is full transparency on disease outbreaks and the use of this antibiotic.
The Liberals’ response to last summer’s marine catastrophe is shamefully inadequate. They must truly put the salmon farming industry on notice, as was promised to Tasmanian coastal communities.
