Yesterday in nipaluna/Hobart, hundreds of concerned citizens joined the Fish Farms Out Now flotilla organized by Bob Brown Foundation, calling for fish farms to be removed from Tasmanian waters.
The flotilla took place on Hobart’s harbour, alongside the Sea Shepherd vessel Allankay which arrived off the back of a campaign in Antarctica to document the destructive krill fishery. During that campaign, Sea Shepherd Global documented supertrawlers ploughing through pods of whales, emptying the Southern Ocean of krill.
Last year, Bob Brown Foundation joined Sea Shepherd Global on the first voyage to document the supertrawler fleet catching krill in the Antarctic.
The krill-salmon connection
Following that voyage, Bob Brown Foundation released a report documenting where krill was being used in Australia and, shockingly, Tasmanian salmon farms were one of the biggest consumers of this vital keystone species.
The rally called on the next government to remove these environmentally damaging fish farms from Tasmania’s waters immediately.
‘Today’s rally, alongside Sea Shepherd Australia, adds yet another voice to the cacophony opposing Tasmanian salmon farms,’ said Alistair Allan, Antarctic and Marine Campaigner at Bob Brown Foundation.
‘The Tasmanian public is sick of the billionaire-owned, massive companies destroying our public waterways. They pollute, create smothering algal blooms and have pushed rare and endemic animals like the Maugean Skate to the edge of extinction,’ he said.
‘They even rely on feeding their salmon a cornerstone of the Antarctic ecosystem. Everywhere they go, destruction follows.
‘This upcoming election is a chance to vote out those parties who will allow our incredible waterways and environment to be destroyed in the name of private profit.
‘It’s time to get fish farms out of Tasmania’s waters,’ said Alistair Allan.
With scores of boats, kayaks and canoes with banners in Sullivans Cove and hundreds of supporters on the dock, living legend Bob Brown added, ‘While Prime Minister Albanese flew in to turn Launceston red this morning, the biggest public turnout and show of colour was at Hobart’s waterfront where hundreds joined a Sea Shepherd and Bob Brown Foundation demonstration against the impacts of industrial fishing farming.’
The Tasmanian state election is on Saturday 23 March.
