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By
DANIEL LATO
AN investigation has
begun into the loss – and possible deaths – of 132
tonnes of southern bluefin tuna worth $6 million off
Port Lincoln.
The Australian Fisheries Management Authority – a
Commonwealth authority – is now investigating how many
of the fish died when a huge tow cage containing the
haul broke.
A spokesman for the
Tuna Boat Owners Association, Brian Jeffriess, said
yesterday the fish deaths had been minimal.
"It was purely an
accident and pretty much all the fish escaped into the
wild," he said.
"Proper channels were
followed and the AFMA has been advised."
He said the number of
dead fish counted from aerial observations was "less
than 45".
But sources have told
The Advertiser the mortality rate was much
higher, the tow cage breaking in a way that it
entangled the tuna and most of the catch – believed to
be up to 5000 fish – had drowned.
The fish were being
transported in tow cages for the Stehr Group on
February 20 when the incident happened.
The tow cages are mesh
nets which are kept open at the top by a large ring.
It is understood that
the ring on the tow cage collapsed in The Passage on
the return journey to Port Lincoln from the Great
Australian Bight.
Such a collapse would
cause the netting to entangle the fish and prevent
them from swimming, which stops them from pushing
water into their gills.
A Stehr Group
spokeswoman said they were unable to comment about the
loss as the matter was in the hands of their
solicitors.
Southern bluefin tuna
are caught in the Bight and moved by tow nets to fish
farms at Port Lincoln where they are grown for sale on
the lucrative Japanese market.
The tuna industry is
worth $304 million a year to South Australia – with
the average price for a fish about $1000.
The investigation will
centre on whether proper fishing practices were
followed as the tuna were being towed.
Senior investigator
with AFMA, John Andersen, said the incident was
serious and any determined fish deaths were likely to
affect Australia's total allocated catch for the
season.
He said some fish had
been recovered and tests were being done on them to
determine the cause of their death.
"We have a lot of
avenues of inquiry that we must still complete," Mr
Andersen said.
Agriculture and
Fisheries Minister Paul Holloway said the incident
appeared to be a Commonwealth matter and he therefore
had no jurisdiction in the investigation process.
Southern bluefin tuna
has a set price of $45,000 a tonne on maturity.
South Australia has the
total market for Southern bluefin tuna, providing 100
per cent of the stock for sale, with nearly all being
exported to Japan.
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