Seal-killing bombs

Details: Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00; Written by editor

Deadly underwater explosives used by Tasmania’s industrial salmon producers are blinding, bruising and killing fur seals.

We need a global outcry to protect seals and shame Australia’s salmon industry into action. Tell the salmon industry to stop using deadly seal crackers now!

Injured fur seal with blood on it's fur on a wharf covered in blood

Sign the petition

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.

A, 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?

Sign the petition

Thanks for all that you do,
Nish, Nick and the team at SumOfUs

More information:

Tasmania’s salmon industry detonates underwater bombs to scare away seals – but at what cost?
The Conversation. 17 September 2021. Conservationists call for ban on explosives to scare seals at salmon farm in federal waters off Tasmania
The Guardian. 21 March 2022. Huon Aquaculture accounts for 75% of seal deaths at Tasmanian salmon farms in past year
The Guardian. 9 May 2022. Tasmania's salmon industry must reform and be more transparent, parliamentary inquiry says
ABC. 24 May 2022.

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