Shockingly in just one month, 15 native birds and one seal have drowned in a single Tassal industrial fish farm lease on the Tasman Peninsula.

Right to Information (RTI) documents have revealed a harrowing account of an adult seal being shot with sedatives multiple times, before finally drowning and being found at the bottom of a fish farm pen.

Tassal recently received an exemption from the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), which allows them to continue using explosive deterrents on seals, despite the ASC’s supposed “zero tolerance” policy on their use.

Bob Brown Foundation is calling for the immediate removal of fish farms from Tasmania’s waters.

“These factory fish farms are graveyards for our native wildlife,” said Alistair Allan, Antarctic and Marine Campaigner at Bob Brown Foundation.

“If you are buying Tasmanian farmed salmon, you would never know that it is tainted with the blood of native seals and seabirds, but this is the grim reality.The seal that drowned was shot with sedatives, not once or twice, but five times over multiple days before finally succumbing and drowning in the pen.”

“The ASC must immediately stop certifying Tassal, and the Tasmanian Government needs to start removing these wildlife death traps from Tasmania’s oceans,” said Alistair Allan.

Report: Factory fish farms are graveyards for native wildlife and should be removed immediately

Photo: The dead seal prior to post-mortem examination. Image: Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania.