It has been reported that Tasmania’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment has informed commercial rock lobster fisherman that it is their responsibility, not the government’s, to assess the risk of contamination from the controversial antibiotic, florfenicol, used in factory fish farms.

Bob Brown Foundation is calling on the Tasmanian Government to require factory fish farms to drastically reduce stocking densities to eliminate the high level of antibiotic use.

“This is a complete disgrace. Huge multinational fish farming corporations are dumping thousands of kilos of antibiotics into Tasmania’s public waters, contaminating the environment and wild fish and lobster populations. Rather than requiring factory fish farms to, at a minimum, monitor and report the antibiotic contamination they have caused, the government is shifting responsibility to local commercial rock lobster fishers. They are being told to figure out for themselves if the lobsters they catch are contaminated, putting their entire export market at risk,” said Alistair Allan, Antarctic and Marine Campaigner.

“There is no limit to what the Tasmanian Government will let this toxic industry get away with. Whether it’s pushing the Maugean skate to extinction, allowing native seals to be killed, letting dolphins be caught in nets, permitting millions of fish to die from disease, or contaminating an ecosystem and putting unfair expectations on local fishers and risking their fisheries, it is all sacrificed on the altar of big salmon.”

“Premier Rockliff should read the writing on the wall and remove these environmentally destructive fish farms from Tasmania’s waters completely,” said Alistair Allan.