Longer wait on whether Maugean Skate will be considered a threatened species status
Both sides want to end uncertainty over the future of salmon farming at Macquarie Harbour on Tasmania’s West Coast after a decision on the Maugean Skate has been delayed. Here’s why.
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The timeline to assess the Maugean Skate’s threatened species status has been extended by 12 months.
The announcement made by the Federal Government extends the assessment time frame to October 30, 2025.
Tasmanian Senator Anne Urquhart said she had been advised the federal Environment Minister, Tanya Plibersek, had accepted a request by the Threatened Species Scientific Committee to move the deadline from October 30, 2024.
“I am pleased that, in addition to the many public submissions that were made as part of the threatened species assessment process, the TSSC will have additional time to review two recent reports released by the University of Tasmania,” Senator Urquhart said.
The Bob Brown Foundation slammed the decision as outrageous, saying fish farms from Macquarie Harbour must be removed for the skate to survive.
Salmon Tasmania chief executive Luke Martin said they were frustrated by not surprised by the outcome.
The federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water publish online that the decision was to enable enough time to consider public comments and to finalise the assessment.
For the last 12 months, Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has been considering a request from environment groups for a review of whether the Tasmanian salmon industry has the necessary Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act approvals to operate in Macquarie Harbour, home to the endangered maugean skate.
The request essentially required Minister Plibersek to reconsider a 2012 federal government decision, which allowed an expansion of salmon farming in the sensitive West Coast waterway on the understanding it would not adversely impact the skate.
The species’ numbers subsequently crashed, sparking calls for the removal of most – if not all – salmon leases in Macquarie Harbour to protect the skate’s last known habitat.
But Tasmanian salmon producers have argued there is no legal justification for the government to reverse its 2012 decision, and complained the uncertainty caused by Ms Plibersek’s ongoing review has damaged the industry and the communities it supports.
Both sides of the debate have agreed that a decision announced on Tuesday allowing the Threatened Species Scientific Committee a further 12 months to consider the maugean skate’s conservation status does not preclude Minister Plibersek from finalising the EPBC process.
While conservation group Neighbours of Fish Farming said the Minister was obligated to make a decision on the future of Macquarie Harbour’s fish farms as soon as possible, peak industry body Salmon Tasmania called on the federal Labor government to wind up the “political” EPBC review immediately.
Outspoken salmon industry champion, Senator Jonathon Duniam, on Tuesday accused Minister Plibersek of delaying a call on the skate’s future until after a federal election expected in May.
Sen Duniam said until a final decision was made by Canberra, the “trauma” being experienced in West Coast communities would continue.
“Today’s decision by the Labor government in Canberra is nothing short of cowardice,” he said.
“The fact that we are now seeing a minister basically kick down the road a can to beyond the next election, on a decision that affects hundreds if not thousands of Tasmanian jobs in the salmon industry, I think shows exactly where these federal Labor government’s priorities are.
“The science is clear, and the information that was provided to Tanya Plibersek by the Bob Brown Foundation … has been proven to be wrong.
“The health of Macquarie Harbour has improved to a state where it’s better than it has been in many a year, and this is science we can’t ignore.
“But the Minister is pointing to this as a reason why we shouldn’t be making a decision today, and why we shouldn’t be ending the uncertainty.
“A decision could be made today, and should be made today.”
NOFF president, Peter George, said the Threatened Species committee’s deliberations on whether to uplift the skate’s conservation status from endangered to critically endangered, did not alter Ms Plibersek’s immediate responsibilities to protect the 60 million-year-old animal from extinction.
“The obligation remains on the Minister to make her decision about the future of fish farming in Macquarie Harbour as soon as practicable,” Mr George said.
“And since the science says the primary driver of the threat of extinction to the maugean skate is the salmon industry, then the industry has to go.”
West Coast mayor, Shane Pitt, said the council reiterated its call for an immediate decision to be made on the future of salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour.
Mayor Pitt said workers in his municipality were facing another Christmas with their future in limbo, a situation he described as “cruel”.
“It’s unfathomable to think that this could mean another 12 months before a decision on the future of Macquarie Harbour is made,” Mr Pitt said.
“The West Coast can’t afford another 12 months like this and we deserve better than that too.
“The Minister can make the right decision today if she wanted and she should. Let us get on with our lives right here on the West Coast.”
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