SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2015

Wildlife
Management
Tassal is committed to a high standard of wildlife
management through staff training, education, and
system developments, with a goal to reduce where
practical any negative impacts to wildlife interacting
with our operations.
When wildlife interactions do take
place, Tassal has an obligation to make
information publically available through
both our annual sustainability report and
the Aquaculture Stewardship Council
(ASC) certification program. Wildlife
interactions have been identified as a
material issue to our local communities
and it is vital that the information we
record and report on is accurate. In
the reporting period, Tassal developed
and implemented a wildlife interaction
and reporting procedure to support
our wildlife management system. The
procedure describes the reporting
requirements and process with regards
to seals, birds and other wildlife. We
have also started a wildlife working
group, made up of staff members
from our operational, environmental
and safety departments as well as
our company Veterinarian. The group
meets quarterly with the aim to keeping
wildlife interactions a focus across the
company.
Wildlife interactions with aquaculture
operations in Tasmania are regulated by
the Wildlife Management Branch (WMB)
of the DPIPWE which also prescribes
our minimum exclusion measures for
marine farming infrastructure. The
primary role of the WMB is to efficiently
and effectively facilitate the sustainable
management of Tasmania’s wildlife
populations. During the reporting
period there have been zero incidence
of non-compliance with laws and
regulations for wildlife management.
Seal Interactions
During the reporting period we had
eight accidental seal deaths occur
at our farms. Our relocation events
increased in the reporting period as
a result of an operational focus and
continuous improvements in proactively
managing fish welfare, on relocating
serial offenders who posed immediate
threats to our people and our fish.
Increased seal pressure year round,
and across sites that historically have
been known to be lower for interactions
has also aided in the increased number
of animals relocated. We experienced
high numbers of relocations from
our farms in the northern end of the
D’Entrecasteaux Channel due to
infrastructure differences. Implementing
effective seal exclusion technologies at
one farming area can result in increased
pressure at another. We are constantly
adapting to changing conditions when
it comes to interactions between seals
and our farms.
Seal deaths were predominantly
caused by seals chewing through our
fish nets to gain access to stock and
being unable to exit through the hole
they entered. All accidental mortalities
are investigated by the Tassal wildlife
working group and improvements
are implemented in an attempt to
prevent reoccurrence. When seals are
relocated, they are under the care of
approved relocation providers and all
seal deaths are reported to the Wildlife
Management Branch of DPIPWE as per
regulatory requirements.
Tassal Sustainability Report 2015 55