Greens spokesperson for Healthy Oceans, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, has welcomed the support of the Senate in agreeing to establish an Inquiry into the impact of climate change on our fisheries and on marine biodiversity.

“The nation has been shocked by the now annual bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef from heating oceans. What everyone may not be aware of is that global warming is driving dramatic changes throughout Australia’s marine estate and this is having enormous impacts.

With two days of hearings into salmon farming in Tasmania now completed, the Greens spokesperson for Fisheries, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, provides the following comments.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “When I instigated this inquiry I said it was needed to shine some light into muddy waters regarding how the industry is regulated, and I believe we have achieved that.

The Greens spokesperson for Fisheries, Senator Whish-Wilson, has put forward a motion in the Senate to establish an Inquiry into the sustainability, impacts and regulation of Tasmania's fish farms.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, "The leaked reports and emails about the de-oxygenation of Macquarie Harbour was a wake-up call about the potential impacts of this industry on marine ecosystems and raises questions on the future sustainability of fish farming in Tasmania.

Recent public statements from Dr. Daniel Pauly, Professor of Fisheries at Canada’s University of British Columbia, on the imminent threat super-trawlers pose to global fish stocks backs a precautionary approach to industrialized fishing in the Australian Small Pelagic Fishery, Australian Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson stated today.