A $2.1 million funding boost to ensure the long-term survival of Tasmania’s Maugean Skate has been announced by the state government.
The Maugean skate, a species of ray, has evolved to live only in Macquarie Harbour on Tasmania’s west coast and it is believed that fewer than 1,000 of them remain.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff said salmon and the Maugean skate can co-exist in the harbour and a ‘conservation action plan’ that will guide their investment to “minimise the impact on local communities and industries” is currently being created.
But the Bob Brown Foundation says salmon farms are having a ‘catastrophic impact’ on the endangered species.
“It is not just activist groups that want to see the Maugean Skate survive – no one wants an animal to disappear from the planet forever,” said Bob Brown Foundation Antarctic and Marine Campaigner Alistair Allan.
“Tasmanian Liberal and Labor can collude all they want to support these environmentally destructive fish farms but the reality is that they must be removed to give this rare and unique animal any chance of survival.”
Minister for Environment and Climate Change Roger Janesch said the $2.1 million injection will enable the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies to “immediately commence captive breeding” at their Taroona facility.
“We are well advanced with the necessary permits to allow skate to be collected by IMAS for the captive breeding population, led by some of the best and most experienced scientists in this field,” he said.
“This funding will support immediate actions identified by the Recovery Team and the Conservation Action Plan. It will also support measuring, modelling and monitoring activities that will help inform decisions about how to sustain the Aquaculture sector and the Skate’s survival in the wild.”
The Maugean skate is one of 110 species included in the federal government’s threatened species recovery plan.
