Editorial
A message from Salmon Tasmania
Workers first noticed deaths occurring early this year and immediately reported those to the EPA. The industry also took immediate action to manage or remove the affected fish from waters and beaches, and to follow strict biosecurity protocols and environmental best practice. Many of the affected fish have been safely processed into value-added products including fish and livestock feed, oil and fertiliser, and a very small proportion were disposed of in landfill. Industry also rallied the best minds in the world working in labs right here in Tasmania to get cracking on helping to work on new vaccines – much like our annual flu-jab. Of course, like any unprecedented situation, unfortunately it’s impossible to get everything right when you’re faced with a situation that’s never been experienced before. No doubt, there will be lessons to learn and, with the benefit of hindsight, aspects of this unprecedented event could have been handled better. We will of course be reviewing every element of this event and will make changes to protect our fish, our environment, our workers and our communities into the future. Our industry takes very seriously its responsibility and regulated requirement to farm in Tasmania’s waters sustainably. Proudly, we do this to the highest standards of environmental best practice in the world. We need a strong and healthy environment to ensure we have a strong industry that can continue to support the more than 5,000 workers we employ across the state to pay their bills and put food on the table. In addition, we assure readers that Tasmanian salmon is perfectly safe to eat and is a healthy food choice, providing a nutritious, delicious and rich source of protein and Omega-3 fatty acids that play an important role in promoting great overall health. The Heart Foundation recommends that all Australians should eat two to three serves of oily fish such as Atlantic salmon per week as part of a healthy balanced diet. Finally, we want to thank the community and everyone for their understanding and support in this very difficult time for our industry, and commend our workers, from our scientists to our farmers, for their work during this unprecedented event.
Unfortunately in recent months, one tiny microbe, endemic to Tasmanian waters, that’s just one millionth of a metre in size, has devasted several farms in the D’Entrecasteaux Channel. The independent Environmental Protection Authority has confirmed that the microbe, P. Salmonis, is no risk to Tasmanians, to wild fish, or the health of our waterways and beaches. It’s been a confronting time for our surrounding communities, and to you we can only apologise for the impact and to let people know we are doing everything possible to fix this quickly and make changes for the future. To say it’s been devastating and exhausting for our farmers and scientists is an understatement. They have been working around the clock to both clean up the affected areas and keep fish healthy. On occasion this requires the use of antibiotics. There are mandated timeframes between treating fish with antibiotics and harvesting those fish, which means there is no trace of antibiotic when the fish harvested. This is a requirement of Food Standards Australian and NX and Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority. While industry always does its upmost to raise healthy fish, just like all animals and primary producers, salmon and our farms are not immune to the vagaries of our natural environment. For example, we’ve all recently watched as eggs have become hard to buy because of bird flu, the Pacific Oyster Mortality Syndrome still rears its head from time to time and just last year our beef and dairy industry was on edge with Foot and Mouth disease discovered in Bali. The reality is two factors combined to create this unprecedented event; summer conditions, and a new strain of the Tasmanian microbe. Over summer, salmon face greater risks. It’s why we vaccinate the fish before they hit the sea, have strict biosecurity protocols and employ vets to keep our fish healthy. However, seasonal conditions have been trying and these salmon went to sea before it was known a vaccine for this strain was needed.
57 Tasmanian Hospitality Review Apr/May Edition
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