SUBMISSION TO THE INQUIRY INTO THE FIN-FISH AQUACULTURE INDUSTRY IN BY PETER SCHULZE JP

THIS SUBMISSION RELATES ONLY TO THE INDUSTY’S OPERATIONS IN MACQUARIE HARBOUR STRAHAN

RELEVENT BACKGROUND Electrical Engineer with experience with HEC, APPM and Queenstown. Served on Queenstown Council 18 years. MLC State Parliament 11 years. Recreation Fisher of Macquarie Harbour for 50 years Served on RecFac Committee for 3 terms. Carried out sediment study in Macquarie Harbour for Mount Lyell Co. Supporter of development generally and of aquaculture specifically.

PROLOGUE Strahan is small village with a close knit community where everyone knows ‘what’s going on’ and many residents work for the fish farming industry. I have many friends in Strahan including a number in both the commercial fishing and recreational fishing sectors. I am kept up to date on most things. When this Inquiry was announced quite a number of Strahan residents were interested in making submissions because of their many concerns. As time has gone on, like FIFA the beneficiaries have closed ranks and the others have feared repercussions. Some conceded that is best that I make a submission because I’m always in trouble anyway for telling things ‘how they are’. I have always maintained an interest in the Fish Farming Industry. I have often focused on its weaknesses with the desire that they be addressed and successfully resolved so that the industry and the community is benefitted. Unfortunately my involvements have been sometimes been interpreted by the operators as negativity towards the industry. There have undoubtedly been problems and rather than them being openly addressed they have often been covered up not just by the industry but by consecutive governments. The attitude by the State Government and indeed the State Parliament generally to the Inquiry is most disappointing. Condemning the Inquiry by both the Labour and Liberal parties is to be deplored and the Premier’s comment that it is a witch hunt is

1 disappointing. Such attitudes simply encourage the public to believe that there is something to hide.

THE FOCUS OF THIS SUBMISSION The problems addressed in this submission have generally resulted from inadequate Government regulation monitoring and control together with a lack of communications to the public. My fear is that many of the problems that have occurred in other areas of the world will be repeated here. Many claim that Australia is making the same mistakes that were made in Scotland, Ireland, Canada, USA, Norway, Faroe Islands Iceland and Chile. In some countries the whole industries had to be shut down. The main problems occurring were the discharge of untreated waste, mass escapes, the spread of infectious diseases and parasites to wild fish, the use of toxic chemicals and antibiotics, and the use of contaminated fish feed. On one occasion the Norwegian Health Department warned against eating salmon due to the high level of contaminants in farm raised salmon. No doubt the Committee will acquaint themselves with all those matters. The industry is certainly one that requires high levels of regulation monitoring and control.

THE NATURE OF MACQUARIE HARBOUR The Harbour is a most unusual water way having unusual current patterns, various bottom sediments, unusual metal distribution in the sediments, varying current flows, negligible tidal rise and fall, high flood rises, and is largely a fresh water body with a variable salt water wedge often extending well up the Gordon River. All these variables cause further variability in water temperature acidity and oxygen levels. The harbor can get extremely rough at times. With fresh water sitting over fresh water and many shallow areas means that the waves are steep and have a short pitch. The strongest winds coming from the northwest line up with the 35 kilometers of harbor length. These circumstances lead to very damaging conditions. I have heard fishermen say “when the harbor is rough its best to put out to sea”. The fish farm industry have commonly underestimated the rough conditions that the harbor can throw up often resulting in damaged equipment and lost fish. Such an event occurred again this month to Petuna’s operation where a large number of fish were lost. The first assessment of the Harbour was by T.G. Lempriere. In 1842, 26 years after its discovery, he noted that “There appears to be something in the water that is injurious to salt-water fish. They are often seen floating dead on the surface.” [Tasmanian Journal of Natural Science Vols 1&2 1842-6] An early scientific study commissioned in 1975 by the Strahan Council gave further insights to the harbour’s characteristics and metals in the sedimentation. In 1985 I

2 carried out sediment sampling for the Mount Lyell Company the resultant analysis together with another Government initiated study in 1996 gave evidence of the following: 1. That the black sludge sediment in the southern section of the harbor existed well before the Mount Lyell tailings were discharged into the harbor. 2. That the Mt Lyell tailings had not penetrated the southern area of the harbor due largely to the Gordon River current. 3. That the heavy metals in the sediment were greater in the southern area of the harbor than the northern end. The heavy metals particularly mercury were most concentrated where there were high levels of mineralization on the adjacent shore areas. There still some studies in progress suggesting that allowing expansion of the industry prior to a full knowledge of all the Harbour’s parameters is premature.

EARLY HISTORY OF MY ASSOCIATION WITH THE FISH FARMING INDUSTRY In 1980 I purchased 2 ten acre Lots from at Smith’s Cove for $6000. Smith’s Cove is about 1.5 kilometres south of Strahan. The property was the only freehold land in the area and had been held by the Henry family ever since the time that the Smith's Cove settlement was established in 1870's. Strahan itself was not founded until 1883. There was a track from the land connecting to the Heads Road, it was originally the track servicing the early settlement of from Macquarie Harbour. I simply wanted the property for holiday purposes, having had difficulty getting land in Strahan itself. Initially I took a caravan to the property across the bay by lighter. In 1987 I was approached by the fish farm industry to see if I would sell them some land. I sold them 10 acres on Smith's Cove. I believed that fish farming was a valuable industry for the west coast and should be supported. The property allowed the industry to establish a sheltered landing at Smith’s Cove from which to service the fish farms in the Harbour. The sale price was a very reasonable $12,000 and was conditional that I could use services that might be established or upgraded without having to contribute to their establishment costs. Later on the original purchaser sold the property (Lot 1526) to Petuna Sea Farms. The road was upgraded and a power line installed. In the 90’s I purchased a 2 bedroom Savage River home and relocated it on my remaining 10 acres (Lot 1527).

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MAP OF STRAHAN AND NORTHERN SECTION OF MACQUARIE HARBOUR

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The only freehold land in the area just prior to the establishment of the industry were Lots 1526 and 1527 held by me. In 1987 I sold Lot 1526 to the industry.

EARLY PROBLEMS In about 1991 I was critical of the fish farming industry for blaming the mining industry for problems that were of their own making. That arose when a fish farm enclosure full of fish was located just 2 kilometres south of Strahan and only a few kilometres from where the Mount Lyell tailings entered the harbour. At that time there had been warm weather and negligible water flow in that area. Clearly there 5 was warm water with oxygen depletion and the fish were constrained to the upper levels where the water quality was at its worst. Local fish cod, ling etc had always thrived in the area without any observable effect on them by the mine tailings. Many of the enclosed fish died and the industry blamed the Mount Lyell tailings. It is telling that no pens have been located there after the tailings stopped flowing some 20 years ago. Not long after that event I spent a weekend at Macquarie Heads with a group of Rotarians. In our meandering we visited a fish farm pen located behind the inside rock training wall and not far from the Harbour entrance. An examination showed that it contained many dead and dying fish, with some showing white eye disease. The pen nets were fouled up with weed and there were bubbles coming up through the enclosure from bacterial action from the fish excrement and the surplus feed on the bottom. In that location it was quite shallow and there was no current flow. The condition was witnessed not only by me but 4 or 5 Rotarians and the principal of Murray High School. Whilst in a few days later I brought the whole matter to attention of the Minister for Fisheries, David Lewellynn. I did not mention the matter in Parliament nor did I go public with my concerns. I hoped that the matter would be attended to quietly so that the industry that I supported would not suffer as a result of such bad practices. The Minister apparently sent an officer around to check on what I had reported to him, and later advised me that there was no problem there at all! It seemed the operator was advised of the impending visit and made aware that I was the whistle blower. Not long after that event a massive whole was blown with explosives in the rock training wall near to where the fish farm cage was located. This was apparently to try and induce a current flow behind the wall.

RECREATION FISHING EFFECTS Recreational fish catches both in the Harbour and in the Gordon River have declined since fish farms were established. It is apparent that the fish farms are acting as a magnet for the local fish. This was easily demonstrated by throwing fish feed pellets in the water near but outside the pens. Fish of many species can be seen rising to the feed. Some years ago Rex Hunt fishing expert filmed a show for television showing how to catch fish adjacent to the fish pens in Macquarie Harbour. He used a long shank small gauge hook with a fish feed pellet wedged in it then allowed it to sink slowly emulating how the farmed fish are normally fed.

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Needless to say he caught heaps. The local fish and escapees are obviously residing near the fish farms. This accumulation of wild species near fish farms is well documented by the industry in other places around the world. Overseas evidence indicates that fish diseases are transmitted both to and from the local fish and the caged fish. In Scotland where fish farms were established along the coast the local wild salmon catches declined substantially, yet in other areas along the coast where there were no fish farms the local salmon numbers were unchanged. A comprehensive study that was carried out concluded: “Importantly, there is clear evidence that both wild salmon and sea trout are in decline in Scotland’s ‘aquaculture zone’, whereas generally, populations have been relatively stable on the east and north coast where there is no fish farming.” Similar problems are reported in New Zealand where recreation fishers are calling for a greater distance of separation be established between key recreational fishing areas and aquaculture operations. The Macquarie Harbour now containing a very high density of fish farming activity is located such that a greater interaction can be expected than of the case in Scotland waters and most other places. This is because the ‘wild salmon’ (Brown Trout) that sea run to and from the Gordon River have a number of fish farms right in their pathway. Reports by recreational fishers indicate substantial depletion of wild fish in the harbour and in the Gordon River. In November 2002 I wrote to the then relevant minister Bryan Green expressing concern about the decline of fish in both the harbour and the Gordon River. In his reply in Feb 2003 he without any evidence to the contrary generally rejected that claim. Some years ago the State Department responsible agreed to phase out commercial fishing in the harbour, but it seems that they have gone back on that policy and even allowed a new operator in! This has not helped the plight of recreational fishers in an area where there is not enough wild fish to sustain commercial fishing anyway.

LESS SERIOUS PROBLEMS THAT HAVE OCCURRED SINCE FISH FARMING WAS ESTABLISHED. 1. Recreational fishermen were barred from fishing on the 1 kilometre square leases. That was despite commitments given by the industry just prior to its establishment. 2. Recreationists were blamed for a cut in one of the cage nets, it was later confirmed that the hole was made by an outboard motor on a dinghy belonging to the industry. 3. The leases were not clearly marked and it was difficult to tell if you were going through a lease or between leases.

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4. Some cages were moved away from their lease areas. 5. On the western side of the harbour ropes from the fish farms trailed to the shore line. This was the area where small vessels travelled to keep away from rougher waters of the harbour. 6. High Levels of antibiotics are used and when fish escapes/releases occur the salmon can still have high levels of antibiotics in them and so not be fit for human consumption. Inadequate warnings have given to the general public. Notices on the sides of the cages do little. 7. There has been inadequate control over the disposal of the escapees to ensure they are not used for bait in the wild fishery or supplied to restaurant industry. 8. There has been inadequate checking and testing of the build up of fish excrement and waste food on the harbour floor. The fish farms are generally located in the deep sections of the harbour above the Gordon trench and where a reasonable currents flow exists. In these deep areas there is a build up of sludge from button grass plain sediments it is also the area where the endangered Maugean Skate resides (according to recent department studies). This area is very vulnerable to build up and would be the limiting factor for the industry’s expansion. Evidence has been provided to the Government by a previous fish farm operator in the area expressing concern that increase size of the operations to current levels is beyond the sustainability of the harbour. 9. The additional pens due to the recent expansion of the industry now cause a major impediment to recreational craft, particularly sailing vessels that generally require to tack due to prevailing winds.

ASSESSING THE HARBOUR’S FISH FARMING CAPACITY To properly assess the Harbour’s aquaculture capacity long term studies and a comprehensive knowledge would be required and necessarily include the following: 1. Harbour currents and their long term and seasonal variation 2. Variations in the Gordon River Flow. 3. The effects on local wild fish and recreational fishing. 4. Seasonal and long term oxygen levels in the water. 5. Sedimentation on the Harbour’s floor and its ability dissipate the build up of fish excrement and food waste. I am not aware that such a comprehensive assessment has been made dealing with all these matters. No doubt the Inquiry will deal with this issue.

IN CONCLUSION The fish farm industry is an industry favoured by successive Governments and substantial funding is still provided well beyond the time that the industry became

8 established and profitable. Much larger wealth producing industries receive much less support. Successive Governments have failed to monitor and regulate the industry resulting in public health risk, the risk of disease spread to wild fish populations, a threat to the harbour skate, a diminishment of recreational fishing and general degradation of the environment. It appears that problems encountered by the fish farming industry in other parts of the world have been largely ignored. The industry is often spoken of as an Ocean Salmon Farming Industry that looks to ocean currents and tides as the means of removing the bottom waste that is generated. No harbour in the world with such variable water currents and with virtually no tidal effect has been used with the farming density that is now occurring in Macquarie Harbour. Both the State Labour and Liberal Parties have condemned the Senate inquiry that was supported by their Federal colleagues indicating it is a witch hunt. The Minister Jeremy Rockliff said there had been no “significant fish health or environmental events.” I guess that was ‘to his knowledge’. In recent times there has been significant use of antibiotics due to disease problems and also substantial use of bottled oxygen to try and counter oxygen depletion. The public concern arises from the fact that there is a lack of communications relating to the Government’s regulation activities of the industry. Such matters as the use of antibiotics, use of oxygen, occurrences of diseases, the statistics on escapes, the build up fish excrement and food waste on the harbour floor with the necessary raking and fish flesh analysis for PCB’s etc. should be made public on a regular basis. This may allay the many concerns that now exist.

APPENDIX FISH STOCKS IN MAQUARIE HARBOUR AND THE GORDON RIVER (This article was written before the inquiry was initiated and was written to help resolve a problem between two recreational groups. The Gordon river anglers believed that it was the recreational netters in the harbour that had caused depletion of wild salmon (Brown Trout) in the River This unfortunately caused dissent between the two recreational groups. I first started fishing in the harbour in the 1940's. My uncle had a camp at Lettes Bay and a small motor boat. Our fishing was mostly for cod and ling in the Harbour and crayfish down the coast. My Grandfather had a piner's dinghy and fished the Gordon River for Brown trout in the early part of the 20th century, the fish were plentiful during those times. From the 60's I fished the harbour regularly, in the 80's I had a property on the Harbour near Smith's Cove. I line fished and netted keeping a log of my catches, that log was made available to a Government Department's study on recreational fishing. I fished and netted extensively throughout including the following areas:-

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Mill Bay Lettes Bay Magazine Island Grassy Island Pine Cove Double Cove Swan Basin Farm Cove Macquarie Hds Area. Birches Inlet Settlement Island From the 1965 till 1988 fish were plentiful particularly cod, ling, flounder and brown trout .At the right time of the year Trevally were plentiful in the Heads area. The best areas for netting trout were generally where the water was not too deep and close the shoreline. Line fishing for cod and ling gave best results in the deeper holes. There are very few sea birds in the harbour area and I have never caught nor have ever seen caught any sea birds in nets. Because the good netting areas are not in the deeper water I have never netted nor seen netted the harbour skate. Commercial fishing has always been permitted in the harbour and carried out extensively. The Brown trout were netted for Crayfish bait and nets up to almost 1 klm long were used for flounder. The main concern of recreational fishers in those times was the 'cleaning out' of flounder from the harbour by the professional fishermen with their very long nets. The Mt Lyell mine tailings were going into the Harbour throughout the period with no apparent affect on the fishing, in fact there were plenty of fish in the Lettes Bay area and that was close to where the Queen River discharged the mine tailings. FISH FARMS In 1980 I purchased two ten acre lots at Smith's Cove generally called old Strahan. In 1987 I was approached by the fish farm industry to sell them one lot to assist the establishment of the industry. I did not need two lots and believed the industry was good for the area so sold the lot that gave them access to a sheltered bay for $12,000. The sale was conditional that I could use any of the services (power and road) they might install without contributing to their development. The property was later sold to Petuna Seafoods. With the establishment of fish farms in the harbour many of us were concerned by reports of problems that had occurred in overseas operations. However the industry assured recreational fishers there would be no problems and that they would permit the locals to fish right up to their cages - that opportunity was later withdrawn. There were some early difficulties with the operations. Some pens were established at the northern end of the harbour however a large number of fish died. The industry blamed the mine tailings. However the tailings were not a problem to other fish in the area and those other fish were bottom dwellers living much closer to the tailings. The real problem was that there was very little current in that part of the harbour, and there had been an increase in the water temperature at the time, particularly in the upper layers and also reduced oxygen levels. It should be noted that after the tailings were no longer discharged into the harbour the industry did not return to that area again. Another problem arose was when a fish cage that was located behind the breakwater that ran along the inside of the harbour from near the entrance. One weekend I was with a group of Queenstown Rotarians staying at an old house at the heads. We visited that fish cage and found it contained many dead and dying fish, some showing white eye disease. The nets were fouled with weed and there were bubbles coming up through the cage from bacterial action on the bottom. I went to the minister David Llewellyn and advised him of the problem. I did not mention the matter in parliament or make the matter public. The minister sent an officer around to check and later advised me that there were no problems! The industry had been advised someone was on the way and that I was the whistle blower. The payback for my

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actions was intense and prolonged. It involved an attempt by a fish farm industry to close off access to my property on the harbour. Shortly after that event a hole was blown in the breakwater with gelignite to try and increase the current flow behind the wall so that cages could operate there, but the flow levels were still too low. On a number of occasions I and other recreational fishermen have thrown fish feed pellets into the water just outside the fish cages and it was always quite amazing to see the large number of fish rising to feed on the pellets, fish of many species. It became widely known that thousands of native fish hung out around the fish farms for the surplus food and high nitrogen levels on the harbour bottom. There was even a fishing documentary made showing how easy it was to catch trout in the close vicinity of the fish farm cages. So that was where “our” fish were hanging out and recreational fishers were not permitted into that area! From the time that fish farming commenced in the harbour the distribution of fish changed dramatically and reports from both net and line fishermen indicate substantially reduced catches in all other areas When there are escapes and releases of fish from the fish farms the professional fishermen are engaged to help net them and it is reported that when netting in the vicinity of the fish farm many of the local brown trout that have come to live there are also caught. Many of these are probably sea runners who have taken up residency at the farms rather than travelling up the Gordon River. Recreational fishermen report that they have been catching far fewer fish both in the harbour as well as in the Gordon River. What exacerbates the situation is that when there is a fish farm release or escape the word spreads and fishermen come from all over the state to try their luck putting undue pressure on all harbour fish. The fish taken by the professional fishermen after an escape or release are not supposed to be used for cray bait nor should they end up in restaurants but there does not appear to be any control over their disposal or any specially approved dump sites for the fish. Another concern is that antibiotics are used by the industry. The fish being taken off the antibiotics some time before marketing so that they are purged from those materials that are not recommended for human consumption, however when fish escape there would be occasions when they would still contain antibiotics, yet nobody is warned and many end up as table fish. General netting by local amateur fishermen in the harbour is not extensive and poses no threat to any specie. The area adjacent to the mouth of the Gordon River that was once an area allowed for netting is no longer available. This was to ensure fish running towards the Gordon river mouth are not impeded. Clearly the fish farm industry and its associated activities is the main reason for the local fish depletion throughout harbour and in the River If any restrictions are contemplated the first should be to ban commercial netting in the harbour. Some years ago there had been an agreement with the Department for this to happen but for reasons unknown it was not implemented. In conclusion I would say that the fish farms act as a magnet for other fish in the harbour, particularly brown trout. Since the fish farms have been established there has been a substantial reduction in the other varieties of fish in the harbour and a reduction of trout in the Gordon River. The best solution would be to stop all fish releases and escapes as this would prevent large numbers of netters operating both recreational and professional and would stop the ingress of recreational netters coming from other parts of the State. Any other practical solution to the problem is difficult to determine. Stopping amateur netting would not make any significant difference. Stopping professional netting would have a greater effect and be a fairer action as the professional fishermen have wider opportunities outside of the harbour. Peter Schulze Nov 2014 11