‘You're supporting a toxic system’: Senator’s defiant stance sparks public outrage
- Replies 4
Food safety scandals can be unsettling, especially when they involve a staple many Australians enjoy.
What started as a routine industry update has quickly spiralled into a controversy, raising serious questions about transparency, environmental impact, and public health.
At the centre of it all is Tasmania’s multi-billion-dollar salmon industry, now facing intense scrutiny over a growing crisis.
A senator’s support for Tasmania’s salmon industry sparked backlash as authorities scrambled to assess a devastating outbreak that led to mass fish deaths and rotting carcasses washing ashore.
Tasmania’s Liberal senator Jonno Duniam, who also served as the shadow minister for the environment, declared on social media that he would ‘proudly continue to buy’ local salmon despite growing concerns.
Posting from a supermarket car park, he insisted the fish was ‘healthy’ and refused to be ‘emotionally blackmailed into stopping.’
The salmon product he held in his post was unavailable online at both Coles and Woolworths.
His statement ignited outrage, particularly from Tasmanians demanding greater transparency in an industry that largely self-regulated.
Critics accused salmon farms of using harmful antibiotics that contaminated waterways and posed risks to human health.
‘No one’s blackmailing anyone. By their own admission the fish have a new bacteria that even the farms don’t know what it is OR what the impact will be,’ a local commented.
‘If you honestly believe it's healthy Jonno, please eat it to your heart's content...I'd rather see you pollies eat this toxic crap that you are promoting, than feed it to my family,’ another wrote.
‘You're supporting a toxic system that is not even locally owned anymore. Enjoy your dinner,’ a third added.
Drone footage captured salmon rotting inside farms run by Huon Aquaculture and Tassal.
The footage, shared by the Bob Brown Foundation, showed decomposing fish in pens and carcasses washing up on beaches like Verona Sands and Bruny Island.
The crisis escalated after the industry revealed an outbreak of rickettsia bacterial disease, which caused unusually high fish mortality across multiple farms.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Tasmanian Government launched investigations, though the exact scale of the die-off remained unclear due to the lack of mandatory mortality reporting.
Independent federal MP Andrew Wilkie accused the Tasmanian Government of failing to hold the industry accountable.
‘The EPA only does what it's allowed to do and resourced to do by the Tasmanian government, so this, in essence, goes back to the state government's responsibility and … [it] doesn't seem to care about all these unknowns,’ Wilkie shared.
‘It was very worrying [the EPA] didn't know how many fish had died, didn't know which kind of rickettsia had affected them, didn't know the effect of the big spike in antibiotic use both on the natural environment as well as human consumption.’
‘The problem here is…both Labor and Liberal governments for many, many years have been beholden to the salmon industry and have accepted that the industry will largely self-regulate and self-report.’
Tasmania’s salmon industry, valued at over $1 billion, accounted for more than 90 per cent of Australia’s Atlantic salmon production.
Locals recently discovered ‘foul-smelling chunks’ along the shorelines, believed to be waste from salmon farms.
Community group Neighbours of Fishfarming expressed concerns that the pollution stemmed from the disposal of diseased salmon carcasses.
They shared: ‘The smell was terrible, and locals are not happy,’ the group stated, sharing images of the substance.’
‘It’s no secret that the salmon farms are having huge mortality events ... and we are concerned that this foul pollution is a direct result of mishandling of the fatty diseased salmon carcasses.’
The waste was found along Verona Sands beach, near Huon Aquaculture’s farms, with residents describing ‘tonnes and tonnes and tonnes’ of the material on the sand.
Huon Aquaculture denied the chunks were decomposing fish, attributing the pollution to ‘fish oil’ that created ‘chunks of oily sand on the beach.’
Huon and Tassal have been contacted for comment, as well as Senator Duniam’s office.
Footage has emerged showing the shocking reality of Tasmania’s salmon crisis, with thousands of farmed fish dying in overcrowded pens.
The disturbing images have raised fresh concerns about industry practices and environmental impact.
Watch the full video below.
In a previous story, major supermarkets came under fire for allegedly misleading customers with ‘responsibly sourced’ salmon labels.
Advocacy groups argued that the claim masked serious environmental and welfare concerns within the industry.
Read more about the controversy and what it means for Aussie shoppers here.
With Tasmania’s salmon industry under fire, do you think enough is being done to ensure transparency and food safety? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
What started as a routine industry update has quickly spiralled into a controversy, raising serious questions about transparency, environmental impact, and public health.
At the centre of it all is Tasmania’s multi-billion-dollar salmon industry, now facing intense scrutiny over a growing crisis.
A senator’s support for Tasmania’s salmon industry sparked backlash as authorities scrambled to assess a devastating outbreak that led to mass fish deaths and rotting carcasses washing ashore.
Tasmania’s Liberal senator Jonno Duniam, who also served as the shadow minister for the environment, declared on social media that he would ‘proudly continue to buy’ local salmon despite growing concerns.
Posting from a supermarket car park, he insisted the fish was ‘healthy’ and refused to be ‘emotionally blackmailed into stopping.’
The salmon product he held in his post was unavailable online at both Coles and Woolworths.
His statement ignited outrage, particularly from Tasmanians demanding greater transparency in an industry that largely self-regulated.
Critics accused salmon farms of using harmful antibiotics that contaminated waterways and posed risks to human health.
‘No one’s blackmailing anyone. By their own admission the fish have a new bacteria that even the farms don’t know what it is OR what the impact will be,’ a local commented.
‘If you honestly believe it's healthy Jonno, please eat it to your heart's content...I'd rather see you pollies eat this toxic crap that you are promoting, than feed it to my family,’ another wrote.
‘You're supporting a toxic system that is not even locally owned anymore. Enjoy your dinner,’ a third added.
Drone footage captured salmon rotting inside farms run by Huon Aquaculture and Tassal.
The footage, shared by the Bob Brown Foundation, showed decomposing fish in pens and carcasses washing up on beaches like Verona Sands and Bruny Island.
The crisis escalated after the industry revealed an outbreak of rickettsia bacterial disease, which caused unusually high fish mortality across multiple farms.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Tasmanian Government launched investigations, though the exact scale of the die-off remained unclear due to the lack of mandatory mortality reporting.
Independent federal MP Andrew Wilkie accused the Tasmanian Government of failing to hold the industry accountable.
‘The EPA only does what it's allowed to do and resourced to do by the Tasmanian government, so this, in essence, goes back to the state government's responsibility and … [it] doesn't seem to care about all these unknowns,’ Wilkie shared.
‘It was very worrying [the EPA] didn't know how many fish had died, didn't know which kind of rickettsia had affected them, didn't know the effect of the big spike in antibiotic use both on the natural environment as well as human consumption.’
‘The problem here is…both Labor and Liberal governments for many, many years have been beholden to the salmon industry and have accepted that the industry will largely self-regulate and self-report.’
Tasmania’s salmon industry, valued at over $1 billion, accounted for more than 90 per cent of Australia’s Atlantic salmon production.
Locals recently discovered ‘foul-smelling chunks’ along the shorelines, believed to be waste from salmon farms.
Community group Neighbours of Fishfarming expressed concerns that the pollution stemmed from the disposal of diseased salmon carcasses.
They shared: ‘The smell was terrible, and locals are not happy,’ the group stated, sharing images of the substance.’
‘It’s no secret that the salmon farms are having huge mortality events ... and we are concerned that this foul pollution is a direct result of mishandling of the fatty diseased salmon carcasses.’
The waste was found along Verona Sands beach, near Huon Aquaculture’s farms, with residents describing ‘tonnes and tonnes and tonnes’ of the material on the sand.
Huon Aquaculture denied the chunks were decomposing fish, attributing the pollution to ‘fish oil’ that created ‘chunks of oily sand on the beach.’
Huon and Tassal have been contacted for comment, as well as Senator Duniam’s office.
Footage has emerged showing the shocking reality of Tasmania’s salmon crisis, with thousands of farmed fish dying in overcrowded pens.
The disturbing images have raised fresh concerns about industry practices and environmental impact.
Watch the full video below.
In a previous story, major supermarkets came under fire for allegedly misleading customers with ‘responsibly sourced’ salmon labels.
Advocacy groups argued that the claim masked serious environmental and welfare concerns within the industry.
Read more about the controversy and what it means for Aussie shoppers here.
With Tasmania’s salmon industry under fire, do you think enough is being done to ensure transparency and food safety? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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Much nicer fish out there anyway.
