Comments for the ACF community submission are now closed.
However, comments via the Australian Government's consultation hub remain open until Friday 2 February. Use the talking points on this page and send your message directly to the government!
The Maugean skate is crashing towards extinction from the impacts of industrial salmon farming in its only home of Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania.
Without urgent intervention this marine ray that’s as old as the dinosaurs is likely to disappear forever.
In 2012 the Environment Minister of the day decided salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour didn’t need assessment and approval under Australia’s nature laws. The Maugean skate needs Tanya Plibersek to revoke that decision and declare it does require assessment under Australia’s nature laws, as the first step to getting the skate the emergency relief it needs.
Add a comment and we’ll include it in an ACF Community submission to the government – comments close next week.
What to include in your comment
The minister can choose to reconsider the decision if she deems there is substantial new information about the impacts of salmon farming, or a substantial change in circumstances for the Maugean skate as a protected matter. Use these talking points to craft your comment:
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The Maugean skate population in Macquarie Harbour has declined by 47% in seven years, between 2014 and 2021. The pace of the decline shows its vulnerability to environmental degradation and very few juveniles are reaching adulthood. This raises serious concerns about the species' survival if suitable conditions can’t be delivered.
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New evidence confirms salmon farming’s impact on dissolved oxygen levels in Macquarie Harbour, and its contribution to the decline of Maugean skate populations and mass-skate death events.
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Macquarie Harbour is now the only known location of the Maugean skate. It is highly likely it is the only home it has making it critical to its survival. Failing to address the threats to the skates from salmon farming will almost certainly lead to its extinction.
- The Australian Government’s own Conservation Advice for the Maugean skate 'Substantial recent evidence indicates a high risk of extinction for the species in the near future'. and names the 'urgent priority' of 'Eliminating or significantly reducing the impacts of salmonid aquaculture on dissolved oxygen concentrations'.
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The Albanese Government’s pledge to end extinctions demands that the Minister intervenes urgently by declaring salmon farming in Macquarie harbour a 'controlled action' requiring assessment under Australia’s nature laws.
Banner image: Salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour. Credit: Crbellete/Shutterstock.
Latest Supporters
The Maugean skate population in Macquarie Harbour has declined by 47% in seven years due to the impact of salmon farming in the Macquarie Harbour. The Albanese government must take steps to protect this species before it is too late. Once it’s gone, it’s gone for good.
The extinction of this marine creature must not happen on ALPwatch.
we must protect all the skate and stop any further extinctions of all animals
Time to stop this foul polluting destructive industry.
The Maugean skate population in Macquarie Harbour has declined by 47% in seven years, between 2014 and 2021. The pace of the decline shows its vulnerability to environmental degradation and very few juveniles are reaching adulthood. This raises serious concerns about the species’ survival if suitable conditions can’t be delivered.
New evidence confirms salmon farming’s impact on dissolved oxygen levels in Macquarie Harbour, and its contribution to the decline of Maugean skate populations and mass-skate death events.
Macquarie Harbour is now the only known location of the Maugean skate. It is highly likely it is the only home it has making it critical to its survival. Failing to address the threats to the skates from salmon farming will almost certainly lead to its extinction.
The Australian Government’s own Conservation Advice for the Maugean skate ‘Substantial recent evidence indicates a high risk of extinction for the species in the near future’. and names the ‘urgent priority’ of ‘Eliminating or significantly reducing the impacts of salmonid aquaculture on dissolved oxygen concentrations’.
The Albanese Government’s pledge to end extinctions demands that the Minister intervenes urgently by declaring salmon farming in Macquarie harbour a ‘controlled action’ requiring assessment under Australia’s nature laws.
Yet another Australian extinction … the Maugham Skate …
I urge you as the responsible Minister to declare that Macquarie Harbour salmon farming is a controlled action requiring assessment under Australia’s environment protection laws.
Given the strong evidence that the salmon farms are causing significant environmental damage, and that the skate population has consequentially plummeted, it is a sad indictment that a full review has not already been required.
I note that we have for some time not been purchasing Tasmanian salmon because of the poor environmental controls over the Tasmanian salmon farms.
The Maugean Skate is hovering on becoming another of the extinctions your government promised to end. Please take action urgently to reverse this risk.
Sustainable Agriculture and Aquaculture sustain life on our planet! Any food production that threatens to make any creature of the biosphere extinct is NOT sustainable. Save the Maugean skate!
The catastrophic decline of 47% in the population of the Maugean skate, together with the low rate of reproduction calls for removal of fish farms from Macquarie Harbour. This should not be done by relocating them to other coastal parts of the State, as their impacts there would damage the environment.
Save the Maugean Skate from extinction! Save our back yard, make salmon farming accountable !
Please reassess farming salmon in Macquarie Harbour. There appears to be far too much harm being done to the native wildlife there, especially the Maugean skate.
As a Wildlife Victoria Volunteer and tourist of Tasmania l know only too well the devastating effects another species can kill and extinguish the life of another. If it’s not invasive species it’s a species which has grown in numbers where the natural marine life cannot survive without government intervention. Knowing restrictions of how other marine life survives is what is happening with the Maugean skate.
Simply put this skate is totally dependent on US to not only survive as well as its habitat too.
Tanya we desperately need YOU so these unique Maugean Skate aren’t on any extinction death list.
Sincerely
Rosemary Race
ALP Member Monash and South Gippsland
12 years on, indications are clear that Macquarie Harbour DOES need protection under Australia’s nature laws. I call for an immediate halt to salmon farming – and we all know how gross salmon farming and farmed salmon is! – until the impacts on this previous ecosystem can be assessed and correct action taken. This lake and it’s non-human inhabitants should not be beholden to profit-driven salmon farming, but monitored, protected and preserved for all.
The Maugean skate population in Macquarie Harbour has declined by 47% in seven years, between 2014 and 2021. The pace of the decline shows its vulnerability to environmental degradation and very few juveniles are reaching adulthood. This raises serious concerns about the species’ survival if suitable conditions can’t be delivered.
The world only has a few places where these beautiful creatures can thrive…. we can farm fish in so many other places/ways. This and other wonderful Tasmanian fish and wildlife need you to decide whether the get to follow us into the future or be lost forever. Make the right choice now or; our future generations will forever learn of you and companies that drove our ecosystem to failure.
Dear Minister Plibersek,
Everyone tuned to environment issues has been aware of the poisoning of Macquarie Harbour by pollution from the salmon fishing industry. The industry has failed to improve its standards for several years now, and it must be stopped before nothing at will flourish there. First The headwaters of the river and its valley were poisoned by copper mining last century, and now the Harbour is about to follow. Pease do a Bob Hawke and just stop it. Meanwhile I and many others have not bought Tasmanian Salmon for years. Gunn’s turned old growth forests into wood chips, and now Tassel and co have turned Turned Tasmanina waterways into toxic sludge.
I hope the reduction in skate can be halted. Salmon farming seems to put it at risk.
Salmon Farming sounds green. Sustainability and all that. But when it’s on a massive scale and/or poorly implemented it harms the environment and wildlife. We need to pause and review at least. Then look at relocation and scaling back. I buy Atlantic Ocean Salmon for this reason. Let’s keep Tassie Amazing instead of yet another environmental wasteland.
The Maugean skate is more important, than a profit making company destroying its breeding ground.
Please revoke the decision.
Please reconsider your decision re the impacts of salmon farming. New informations are now available.
1. The Maugean skate population in Macquarie Harbour has declined by 47% in seven years
2. It is highly likely it is the only home it has making it critical to its survival. Failing to address the threats to the skates from salmon farming will almost certainly lead to its extinction.
3. New evidence confirms salmon farming’s impact on dissolved oxygen levels
This species must be protected, too many of our native species have disappeared because of industrial farming in its many guises. Extinction rates in Australia are alarming. The Minister must intervene immediately.
Thank yoy
With the planet in climate crisis it is essential that flora and fauna do not become extinct because of human actions. The Maugian Skate is such an animal being threatened by salmon farming. It is essential to maintain habitat for as many animals and other life forms as possible to prevent Earth becoming a wasteland. This can be done by the stroke of a pen.
The salmon farms spend millions checking the oxygen levels. The Maugean skate is not near the farms. The government and concerned groups need to look at other possible causes of the decline- maybe the mines? I don’t want to see the skate extinct but our community also depends on the salmon industry for survival. It would be tragic to destroy a community if the actual cause of the skate’s demise is not identified.Everything needs careful evaluation and a non biased approach.
Salmon farming kills the waters and what lives within. I’ve lived in Tasmania and know of the enormous quantity of waste that was pumped into the waters, suffocating everything. Stop killing our sea life, the skate for one, these quiet peaceful beings
I think we should implement ZPG as soon as possible so we don’t need to keep finding more intensive food sources for more and more humans. I don’t want future generations to just have humans and the animals we eat left on this planet.
It is not acceptable that the impacts of industrial salmon farming could lead towards extinction of the Maugean skate, when this ray’s only home of Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania is becoming endangered.
Salmon farming in Macquarie harbour must be stopped
How in 2024 with a Labor Minister, who is supposed to be saving the environment, that you could deem it acceptable to refuse environmental assessment of salmon farming which is known to cause long term degradation of the habitat and kill natural marine life. It’s time to reverse the 2012 decision and stand up for what is environmentally right. I buy salmon and the taste now of farmed salmon has greatly diminished due to the diseased waters now happening due to prolonged farming in this manner. We need to stop kill off natural marine species for profits. If as consumers we can’t get salmon, we will buy an alternative. But you can’t bring back to life, a species that has been destroyed.
Labor needs to stop acting like LNP, and destroying environment. There’s more environmental voters than there are business donors who don’t vote. Bring back responsible management of environmental portfolios. The last election was won by Labor because the people were sick of climate and environment deniers. You’ve been given a job to uphold environment, please get on with it. Revoke the previous decision – the evidence is in – the Maugean skate is going to become extinct if you don’t. We are voters – and we are telling you what you should have been doing already.
Please review the government decision on salmon farming in Macquarie, which is endangering the continued existence of the skate. Your government has made a commitment to halt species extinction.