Independent MP Andrew Wilkie is calling for more transparency in Tasmania’s salmon industry, after uncovering documents he says raise questions about how fish are harvested during mass die-offs.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Wilkie referred to Huon Aquaculture documents from 2014, which detail procedures for handling fish during mortality events.
He questioned whether diseased fish, which health authorities say pose no threat to humans, had ended up for sale in supermarkets.
One document stated “as many fish as possible should be recovered for harvest and processing” and that “any fish in which the gills can still bleed is potentially recoverable and should immediately be bled … all recoverable fish must be kept separate and placed into an ice slurry ASAP”.
Huon Aquaculture responded by saying the documents are “outdated” and were produced under a previous ownership more than a decade ago.
“Huon only harvests live fish for human consumption. Everything that hits the shelves is completely safe to eat,” a spokesperson told Pulse.
“Processing facilities are subject to extensive mandatory independent auditing by multiple bodies that confirm food safety.”
The scrutiny comes as the industry deals with a bacterial outbreak, made worse by warm summer conditions, which caused significant fish deaths across southern Tasmania.
In February alone, around 5,500 tonnes of dead salmon, more than a million fish, were dumped at local waste facilities.
Salmon Tasmania CEO Luke Martin said industry standards remain strong.
“I don’t know how much clearer we can be, the Tasmanian salmon industry only ever processes live fish perfectly suitable for human consumption,” he said.
“Like all good protein farmers, our salmon companies undertake multiple quality control checks throughout the harvesting and processing of their fish.”
“These are long-standing processes that have been developed over decades and are routinely audited by federal government food safety authorities.”
“The bacterium that has caused this recent mortality event, RLO [Rickettsia-like organisms], is not transferable to humans.”
“The Tasmanian Director of Public Health has confirmed that the marine bacterium [Piscirickettsia samonis] is a fish pathogen and does not cause human or terrestrial animal disease or any food safety risk.”
Despite these assurances, Huon has not released its current harvesting procedures, which Wilkie says is cause for concern.
“I do not accept that these are historic documents and are no longer valid because they are entirely consistent with what whistleblowers are telling us today,” he said.
Wilkie is now calling for an independent inquiry, something backed by fellow independent state MP Craig Garland.
“The revelations by Mr Wilkie and the evidence he has released to the public must be immediately considered by the government for urgent action,” Garland said.
Government Minister Kerry Vincent insists the industry is under close scrutiny.
“Everybody’s looking at it, everybody’s reporting on it, I don’t think there’s any opportunity for lack of transparency,” he said.
“Nobody’s trying to hide anything, they’re just trying to deal with a very awkward situation.”
