{"id":224301,"date":"2026-07-17T20:15:39","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T10:15:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.petergeorgeforfranklin.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/25\/media-release-winter-salmon-mortalities-worse-than-last-year-17-july-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-07-25T21:05:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T11:05:26","slug":"media-release-winter-salmon-mortalities-worse-than-last-year-17-july-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/petergeorgeforfranklin.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/17\/media-release-winter-salmon-mortalities-worse-than-last-year-17-july-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"MEDIA RELEASE \u2013 Winter salmon mortalities worse than last year, 17 July 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"et_pb_section_0 et_pb_section et_section_regular et_flex_section\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_row_0 et_pb_row et_flex_row\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_column_0 et_pb_column et-last-child et_flex_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough et_flex_column_24_24 et_flex_column_24_24_tablet et_flex_column_24_24_phone\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_heading_0 et_pb_heading et_pb_module et_flex_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_heading_container\"><h1 class=\"et_pb_module_header\">MEDIA RELEASE \u2013    Winter salmon mortalities    worse than last year, 17 July 2026<\/h1><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"et_pb_text_0 et_pb_text et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_module et_flex_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><p><strong>Statement by Peter George, Independent MP for Franklin:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">The EPA\u2019s\u00a0latest revelations of salmon mortalities for the first half of this year reveal on-going carnage in\u00a0the industry\u2019s\u00a0diseased salmon cages.<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Despite the use of massive doses of the antibiotic, florfenicol, that closed nearby fisheries\u00a0last summer, the EPA\u2019s figures reveal that 13,675\u00a0tonnes\u00a0of salmon died in\u00a0their\u00a0cages between January and June 2026.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/epa.tas.gov.au\/business-industry\/regulation\/salmon-aquaculture\/salmon-waste-management\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">https:\/\/epa.tas.gov.au\/business-industry\/regulation\/salmon-aquaculture\/salmon-waste-management<\/span><\/a><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Rather\u00a0than things\u00a0getting better with the salmon industry\u2019s use of massive doses of florfenicol in diseased cages, the rate of\u00a0mortalities\u00a0is now worse than it was during the first big disease outbreak in the summer of 2025.<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Despite the introduction of florfenicol, the rate\u00a0or\u00a0salmon deaths during autumn and winter this year is markedly worse than in the same period of 2025.<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Thirteen thousand tonnes of\u00a0dead fish\u00a0in just six months reveals once more that Tasmania\u2019s warming waters\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0no place for the salmon industry to survive\u00a0this state<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The industry is now\u00a0so\u00a0riddled with disease that cannot be eradicated,\u00a0the only way\u00a0for it to\u00a0survive is to use increasing amounts of antibiotics\u00a0like\u00a0folorfenicol\u00a0with the risk that\u00a0poses\u00a0to human health,\u00a0to wild fisheries, marine life and the health of waterways.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Despite\u00a0the\u00a0tonnes of florfenicol\u00a0dispersed in diseased salmon pens\u00a0over summer, the rate of mortalities this autumn and winter is even higher than during the massive 2025 outbreak\u00a0when\u00a0mortalities trailed off during the cooler months.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In March this year, the industry reported 3,820 tonnes of dead salmon (3,395 in 2025)<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In\u00a0April\u00a0this year 1,903 tonnes of mortalities (1,337 in 2025)<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In\u00a0May\u00a0this year 1,220 tonnes of mortalities (828 in 2025)<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In\u00a0June\u00a0this year 1,350 tonnes of mortalities (634 in 2025)<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The industry needs to explain how it intends to manage the increasing mortalities without damaging Tasmania\u2019s important wild fisheries and without massive doses of antibiotics.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The\u00a0short term\u00a0answer is to destock all its diseased pens, reduce the density of fish in\u00a0pens generally.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The\u00a0long term\u00a0answer is to get out of Tasmanian waterways and move on land.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">That\u2019s\u00a0the choice: Move on land or leave.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><span 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