A large sign is the latest move in a fight against Tasmanian salmon farms.

Environmentalists have intensified their efforts to protect the critically endangered Maugean skate, a unique fish species native to Tasmania’s west coast. 

Activists have targeted Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek by installing a large billboard near her office in Sydney, accusing the government of allowing the possible extinction of the skate, labelling it as ‘Labor's First Extinction’

The sign urges the removal of salmon farms from Macquarie Harbour.

The Neighbours of Fish Farming (NOFF), a Tasmanian community group, organised the installation of the billboard, which will remain in place for at least two weeks. 

The campaigners are calling for immediate federal action to revoke salmon farm licences in Macquarie Harbour, which they claim are significantly contributing to the skate’s dwindling population.

Scientific reports have linked the decline in the Maugean skate population to decreased oxygen levels in Macquarie Harbour, a condition exacerbated by salmon farming. 

According to conservationists, the skate, which has survived since the age of dinosaurs, faces extinction due to these adverse environmental conditions.

Last year, a report by the University of Tasmania's Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) revealed a 47 per cent decline in the skate population, coinciding with increased salmon farming activities. 

“The Minister's advisors recommended urgent action before last summer, but nothing's been done to reduce or remove the feedlots,” says Jess Coughlan, a NOFF campaigner.

Coughlan recently testified before a Senate inquiry on salmon industry practices, and criticised Minister Plibersek for inaction despite clear scientific advice. 

“We expect the Minister to have the courage to stand up to the giant multinationals that run the industry in Tasmania and act to safeguard Tasmania's coastal waters and Australia's marine heritage,” she said.

Environmentalists argue that if the Maugean skate becomes extinct, it will be the first fish species driven to extinction in modern times solely due to human activities. 

The billboard campaign is part of a broader strategy to hold the government accountable for environmental degradation linked to salmon farming. 

Despite Plibersek's declaration in 2022 that she would not allow any more extinctions, activists argue that her only tangible action has been to support a research and recovery program, which they claim is inadequate.

Last year, the Minister's own science advisors warned that salmon feedlots in the remote West Coast waterway were the main drivers of collapsing oxygen levels, threatening the Maugean skate with extinction.

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