Activists take fish fight to the city streets

Activists dressed up in fish costumes have demonstrated outside the Huon Aquaculture building in the CBD to protest an attempted international takeover.

Activists dressed up in fish costumes demonstrated outside the Huon Aquaculture building in Collins St on Monday to protest the attempted takeover by Brazilian company JBS.

Costumed protesters from the newly formed group Action for Coastal Tasmania flopped around on the ground, which they’d strewn with algae collected from the beaches.

Bec Howarth, who came dressed up as a lobster, said she was vehemently opposed to Huon Aquaculture’s sell-off to the foreign company.

“If we are looking to push our salmon industry to being the world’s best practice, we don’t think this is the solution,” Ms Howarth said.

“We understand there’s a market process, and that’s out of our hands, but we are here today to talk about this particular company. We’re to say our coasts and our communities deserve the best.”

FISH FIGHT: Michelle Pears and Moira Corby protesting outside the Huon Aquaculture building on Collins St. Picture: Kenji Sato

She would not say whether she thought a sell-off to Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest would be any better.

Michelle Pears, who was dressed up as a shark, said the fledging activist group intended to continue their protests targeting Huon Aquaculture and other salmon companies.

Ms Pears is an avid kayaker who claims that the waters near her Port Arthur family home had putrefied over the last few decades, which she blames on the salmon industry.

“Our beautiful bay that was pristine and aqua is now brown and dead due to salmon farms. The industry needs to do better,” Ms Pears said.

“They need to contain their waste where it can be reused onland, but not using our waters as a washing machine. The scum washes into our bays, rivulets, and estuaries.

The Mercury asked Huon Aquaculture whether they respected Action for Coastal Tasmania’s right to protest, but a spokeswoman declined to comment.