In another shocking expose, the Tasmanian Inquirer has revealed four dolphins died from Huon Aquaculture salmon farm operations in the first half of this year, and another three have died from similar causes in 2024.
Also revealed were the deaths of 108 seals in Tasmanian salmon farms during the last seven years, including the horrific recent drowning of an Australian fur seal trapped inside a pen for a week after being shot multiple times by tranquiliser gun.
The continued deaths of protected wildlife from salmon farming, with the cruelty and suffering involved, highlights the urgency to end regulatory permissions and mandate farming preventative measures.
Seals and dolphins are protected species under the EPBC Act, but under Tasmanian regulations industrial salmon farms continue to be allowed to kill wildlife with no meaningful ramifications.
The assault on our native species by these multinational companies is unrelenting. Increasing numbers of dolphins are dying a horrible death tangled in nets. Explosives and lead-shot bullets are legally used against seals. Cormorants are approved to be shot dead as a “crop protection” measure, or drown in cages without bird netting.
We don’t need to a salmon review to show the legalised animal cruelty and slaughter of protected wildlife is wrong and must end immediately. Permission to shoot and throw explosives at wildlife needs to be banned, and mitigations must be installed on every salmon pen to prevent entanglements.
It shouldn’t take Right to Information requests to discover what is happening in public waterways. Reporting on salmon farming operations should be public, and disclosed in real-time, with severe penalties for wildlife deaths.
Tasmanian Inquirer article here.
