Protected fur seals are dying because of underwater bombs
called seal crackers being detonated by industrial salmon producers
in Tasmania, Australia.
Seal crackers are designed to emit piercing noises and flashes of
light that reverberate through the ocean.
But they don't just scare seals: they also cause bone injuries,
soft tissue burns, prolapsed eye balls and in some cases death,
often from blunt force trauma.
Can
you sign the petition calling on Australia's Big Three salmon
producers - Huon Aquaculture, Tassal and Petuna - to stop using
deadly seal crackers and bring salmon pens onshore?
Floating salmon pens are not only a
disaster for the environment - depositing huge amounts of waste and
antibiotics into pristine marine environments - they are also a
magnet for hungry seals.
But instead of moving the pens
onshore away from the seal’s natural habitat, salmon producers
detonate explosive seal crackers whenever seals come close.
The Big Three Tasmanian producers have set off over 77,000
seal crackers in four years.
But these underwater explosives are
not the only risk to the seals - salmon producers also use
shotguns to fire lead-filled projectiles at seals which can
become embedded in their skin causing permanent injuries.
will you help create a global outcry to shame the
salmon industry into action?
→ Add
your voice: demand Huon Aquaculture, Tassal and Petuna stop using
dangerous seal crackers and shotguns now.
Tasmania, the island state off the south-coast of mainland
Australia, is a pristine marine wilderness and one of the last
places you can touch land before you reach Antarctica.
Whales, dolphins, protected Australian fur seals and rare
New Zealand long nosed seals share the ocean with species found
nowhere else.
First Nations people in Tasmania/lutruwita, who have been looking
after the land and ocean for centuries have been speaking up against
commercial fish producers in their waters because of its impact on
the whole ecosystem.
They know the salmon industry is a massive threat; diseases
spread from crowded salmon pens to wild fish and large marine
animals get caught and tangled in the nets.
People power has already successfully pushed the salmon
industry to change. After a big public outcry over Scottish
salmon producers shooting seals, a ban was put in place there to
protect the seals. And SumOfUs members helped stop the Millstone
Point salmon farm expansion in Scotland too.
Can you help protect the seals in Tasmania too?
