Science · Maugean skateMacquarie Harbour skate habitat: Advisers back critical-habitat protectionAired October 28, 2026 at 1:12 PM UTCWritten October 28, 2026 at 1:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:07Macquarie Harbor holds the Magian skate's only confirmed surviving population.0:11Tasmania's scientific advisors say the harbor qualifies for critical habitat0:15protection.0:15That could bring new controls to salmon farms producing thousands of tons a year.0:19Whether protection covers the whole harbor and what it requires farmers to change0:23still needs deciding.0:25Macquarie Harbor sits on Tasmania's west coast.0:27The skate's other known population location is Bathurst Harbor, where it hasn't been0:31recorded since one thousand nine hundred and ninety-two.0:34Scientists describe a potential functional disappearance there.0:37Macquarie remains its only confirmed surviving refuge.0:40Four independent experts agreed that Macquarie Harbor is critical to the skate's0:43survival and recovery.0:44They identified interacting threats from falling dissolved oxygen, aquaculture and0:49climate influences.0:50They also found that targeted human intervention across the harbor could manage at0:53least some of those threats.0:55Tasmania's Scientific Advisory Committee sent that advice to the Environment0:58Department in April2026.1:00It concluded the harbor meets the criteria for designation.1:03A declaration would be Tasmania's first since its Threatened Species Protection Act.1:08Took effect three decades ago.1:10A declaration would require a management plan within ninety days, developed with1:14affected landowners and leaseholders.1:16That clock starts only after a declaration.1:18The plan would set out how to protect the skate within the designated area.1:22The decision belongs to Department Secretary Jason Jacoby.1:25Under state law, he must determine habitat as critical if.1:28After consulting the committee, he's satisfied it's critical to the species1:31survival.1:32In August, he approved twelve eight hundred Australian dollars for further1:36independent advice on boundaries.1:37Jacoby asked for scientifically defensible options, from the smallest ecologically1:42meaningful area to broader practical boundaries.1:44University of Tasmania environmental law expert Jan MacDonald says the eventual plan1:49could require substantial reductions in fish stocking, or potentially an end to1:52salmon farming.1:53MacDonald says the necessary controls depend on the boundary and the conservation1:58work required.1:58She also says compensation for affected parties could become an issue.2:02No compensation entitlement or amount has been decided.2:05Salmon Farms' operating conditions would depend on the decisions that follow.2:08Skate numbers fell sixty four percent between two thousand and fourteen and two2:12thousand and twenty-one as oxygen levels declined.2:15Salmon farming expanded substantially during that period.2:17That historical decline explains the urgency, but2:20it doesn't give us a population count for today.2:22The department says recent monitoring shows encouraging signs for the skate and2:26harbor conditions.2:27It hasn't supplied a new population count or a measured trend.2:30Several captive bread skates were released into the harbor in June2026 as part of2:35efforts to protect the species.2:37Environment Tasmania wants the entire harbor protected, including salmon, farm2:41areas, and the section within the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.2:45Working with the Environmental Defender's Office, its representative Jess Comlin2:48argues that the skate's whole remaining environment needs protection.2:51Independent MP Peter George supports protection even if farming must shrink or end.2:55He calls salmon farming the harbor's biggest problem.2:58The scientific advice identifies several interacting threats.3:01Green's deputy leader Vika Bailey wants urgent action, warning of an El NEO, summer,3:05and heatwave risks.3:06Salmon Tasmania says aquaculture can coexist with the skate.3:10It points to research, oxygenation, and significantly reduced production without3:14giving a reduction figure or comparison period.3:17It hasn't directly said whether it supports the proposed designation.3:20Three major aquaculture companies operate in the harbor.3:23Updated mitigation plans approved by the environmental regulator require farms to3:27offset ten point three tons of oxygen consumption a day.3:30That's the consumption attributed to marine farming.3:32Oxygenated water is pumped at depths of thirty to forty meters.3:36Its effect on skate recovery remains unclear.3:38An oxygenation project led by Sean Riley through Salmon Tasmania lists a budget of3:43three point seven five million Australian dollars.3:45Its purpose was to move oxygenation from a pilot to an operating system.3:49The project listing gives no final performance result.3:52The project ran on paper from July two thousand and twenty five to June two thousand3:56and twenty-six, yet it's still labeled current despite that end date.4:00The funding and pumping show mitigation efforts are underway.4:02Whether those efforts provide enough protection is part of the decision facing the4:06state.4:06Another protection route has already narrowed.4:08Environmental groups sought reconsideration of the federal government's two thousand4:12and twelve approval for expanded salmon farming after the skate's decline.4:15Before the two thousand and twenty five election, Parliament barred reconsideration4:19of approvals for industries operating for more than five years.4:22In February2026 , the Federal Environment Minister kept the skate listed as4:26endangered following federal scientific advice.4:29Tasmania's separate advisory committee is addressing the habitat itself.4:33The state declaration would create its own process for deciding how that habitat4:37should be managed.4:38The department promises consultation with affected stakeholders.4:41It hasn't announced when Jacobi will decide or how much of the harbor any4:44designation would cover.4:46Scientists have recommended protection.4:47The boundary and management plan will determine what that protection requires of4:51salmon farming.Explore with HeyDexFollow via RSS
