North-west Tasmanian oyster growers want dairy industry to pay for the cost of effluent run-off
/ By Alex BlucherNorth-west Tasmanian oyster farmers are calling for dairy and beef producers to help pay water monitoring costs as effluent run-off continues to worsen.
Poor water quality has forced oyster leases to close for over 200 days a year, for the last two years, up from 90 days a decade ago.
Oysters Tasmania's chairman, Jon Poke, said it's not fair that oyster growers have to pay the majority of the annual $850,000 testing costs for the Tasmanian Shellfish Quality Assurance Program.
Loading..."We don't create the problem, we've just got to monitor around it, which we feel is quite unjust," he said.
"It's a very hard pill to swallow, we started oyster farming over 35 years ago, we've been there probably longer than most farmers.
"We've got one lease that is virtually unusable now."
Mr Poke said the Tasmanian Government paid about 30 per cent of the total quality assurance program for the first time last year.
Mr Poke is also an oyster grower in Smithton, he said an increase in cattle numbers and land management practices are making the problem worse.
"There's been quite a change to the density of cattle on the land," he said.
"Through land management practices, humping and hollowing of pastures, this has increased the pace at which the effluent is taken into the river.
"This can be from both dairy and beef cattle, not just dairies.
"When the humping and hollowing is done, it takes all of the natural filtration out of the system.
"During the high rainfall periods cows are virtually standing in drains, because of the different angle of the incline, the effluent is carried more readily with the water discharge from the paddocks, into the streams, and finds its way into the bay," he said.
The Montagu and Duck Rivers both feed into major oyster growing regions off the coast of Circular Head in the state's north-west.
Loading...Dairy Tasmania's Executive Officer, Mark Smith is not ruling out the possibility of farmers contributing to water monitoring costs.
"I'm not ruling it in or out, we need to have further discussions (with Oysters Tasmania) and we've got a plan to do that."
He said there's definitely room for improvement in effluent management practices among farmers.
"Dairy Tasmania's view is that we will be putting extra effort into working with the farmers to make sure they have got the resources and best information around that situation," he said.
"There are effluent management standards and it is important that the farmers are meeting those standards.
"But having said that, when it gets really wet in that sort of environment, you can get leakages and you're not necessarily getting effluent run-off.
"You're getting leakage into the sub-soil and through then into the waterways, which nothing can stop."
Mr Smith said it's not only dairy farmers, but other agricultural and forestry activities which are contributing the issue.
The total annual cost of the Tasmanian Shellfish Quality Assurance Program costs just over $850,000 dollars, which covers all of the state's oyster growing areas.