When one thinks of Tasmania, the extinct animals such as the Thylacine/ Tasmanian Tiger (image) or the battling Tasmanian Devil might come to mind. If one endulged in some Tasmanian farmed salmon, one might keep in mind what one is chewing on...Various seals (Pinnipeds) along with other endemic fauna have inhabited the coastline of Tasmania for aeons. It is in the nature of these marine mammals to annually aggregate on solid ground, like beaches or rocky islands to rest and reproduce.
Human factory farming encroaches on the animals' only habitat - the ocean. A grid of commercial infrastructure clutters the coastal waters. Fish are in sea cages that are "more like the battery hen of the sea".
The aqua-'culture' encroachment of human industry entails the elimination of 'wild' habitat for the other species. The Wildland/Urban Interface (WUI), or better the ocean industrial interface (OII) is the battle ground where our species conquers bio-diversity by replacing it with a simple mono-culture. Monetizing the ocean does mean an extra $350 million!
The Battle
The remaining inhabitants can be framed as pests, in need of culling, a popular Australian strategy for endemic wildlife. Their eradication as a competitor could boost profits, as the seals might mistake a fish for their own. Members of the fishing community set to work shooting at the beasts for hours. Many get away with firearm wounds. Others resort to shallow graves for the seals. But the 'unintentional' by-kill, also known as by-catch is via fishing industry gear. Feral plastic debris causes a slow and painful death for 2% of Tasmania's seals.
In desperation seals fight for their homes and resources. Agents of the fishing industry will now be equipped with a chemical club reserved for riot control of human beings. Pepper spray (Oleoresin capsicum) is designed to disable the terrestial mammal. Aquatic marine mammals might just drown instead of dying from lead or plastic. The grab for their habitat, deeper and deeper into the ocean, will probably spell the end of many species.
When making consumer choices enquire if your fish came from an overcrowded sea cage in a seal habitat.
Links:
Seals, Parks & Wildlife, Tasmania
How green and clean is Tasmanian salmon? The 7.30 Report, abc 09/12/2009
Peppered seal the new fish farm defence abc 27/08/2010
Ocean clutter delicious tag
Image:
Albert Bierstadt, Seal Rock, California 1872 via Zeno
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