Tactical Research Fund: A review of the ecological impacts of selected antibiotics and antifoulants currently used in the Tasmanian salmonid farming industry and development of a research programme to evaluate the environmental impact of selected treatments.
The Tasmanian salmonid industry has recently been faced with several significant production issues necessitating increased use of antibiotics and antifoulants. The effects of these chemicals on the local ecology and ecosystem function are currently poorly understood and without evidence to the contrary, it is difficult for the industry to refute the perception that such chemicals have a detrimental effect on the environment.
There is a large body of literature regarding the effects of antibiotics, however the information pertaining to aquaculture is limited. Improvements in husbandry and vaccine development have now all but eliminated the use of antibiotics in aquaculture overseas, consequently there have been few recent aquaculture specific studies, with even fewer studies on ecosystem effects, the available information largely focussing on environmental persistence and antibiotic resistance. However, there is quite a lot of information in the terrestrial livestock and medical areas on the comparative effects of various antibiotics as well as quite a substantial ecotoxicological literature. In contrast there is a substantial local literature on the environmental impacts of antifoulants and heavy metals. There is a need for a targeted review to establish environmental risk factors associated with current antibiotic and antifoulant usage and to develop an appropriate strategy to research and monitor ongoing impacts.
Some data on sediment residue levels for both antibiotics and antifoulants has been collected by the salmon industry in compliance with drug/chemical licensing permit conditions authorities and by the state government in response to concerns regarding antibiotic usage. So far this data has not been collated and has only been subjected to preliminary analysis; a comprehensive evaluation of this data would markedly improve our understanding of current impacts and help to determine what additional information may be required.
Final report
Rebuilding Southern Rock Lobster stocks on the east coast of Tasmania: informing options for management
Global review: Incentivising small and medium scale aquaculture businesses to measure and report Environmental, Social, and Governance outcomes
The Australian aquaculture industry is faced with a number of environmental, social and governance (ESG) expectations and challenges now and into the future as we see a growing expectation from major retailers and an investor and increasingly government focus on offsetting carbon, nutrients and land. Specific challenges include measuring and reporting on greenhouse gas emissions, disease and antibiotic use, use of forage fish in feeds, habitat destruction, fish welfare and husbandry, and effluent discharge. While larger corporate businesses and some sectors have made some progress in these areas, the small-medium business enterprises will require support given they often have little to no resources to measure, report and allocate new funding and action to address ESG challenges. This is particularly important in areas where some of the challenges will become expectation e.g. market access and carbon emissions reporting.
There is a substantial disparity on how key ESG indicators are reported and assured across different sectors of the seafood industry, which is dependent on many different factors. These can include (but are not limited to):
- the size of the enterprise;
- local, State or Federal legislation;
- third-party certification requirements;
- global best practices;
- investor expectations
- export market requirements
- company policies
Consistency of reporting across the industry is vital to improve ESG policy and practices, ensure accountability of organisations, and increase consumer confidence of the seafood sector. A review of ESG challenges, and existing reporting frameworks/incentive programs both nationally and internationally will be key to developing a centralised reporting framework that both satisfies compliance and regulation and leads to tangible improvement outcomes for SME in the ESG space.