Huon Aquaculture is still under investigation. This comes on the heels of a February high-profile mass mortality event attributed to the bacterial pathogen Piscirikettsia salmonis at its Zuidpool lease. During a two-week period, the company administered over a tonne of the antibiotic Oxytetracycline (OCT) through fish feed to combat the outbreak. The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has released a report. It exposes shocking amounts of antibiotic residue in wild fish samples taken near the breach lease.
The fallout began on February 13 when Huon Aquaculture notified the stock mortality event at its Zuidpool lease. In response, the company was overall pretty quick to start antibiotic treatment. The company exceeded this bounding limit between February 13 and 26, using 1,133 kilograms of OCT during this time. This treatment raised concerns about the environmental impact and potential health risks associated with antibiotic residues in nearby wild fish populations.
EPA Findings Raise Concerns
The EPA’s report revealed troubling findings regarding antibiotic contamination in wild fish caught near Huon Aquaculture’s lease.… Samples taken from cities, several kilometers away, showed that significant levels of antibiotics were present. Not surprisingly, these levels were as much as twelve times the limit for salmon sold commercially. Alarmingly, three flathead fish tested only two kilometers from the lease had antibiotic residues above reportable limits.
During this period, eight samples were collected from Huon Aquaculture’s Zuidpool North lease. Of those, three tested above the reporting threshold for antibiotics. Additionally, all samples of blue mackerel collected from the lease at Ventenat Point on Bruny Island were found to have elevated antibiotic levels. These implications lead to concerns about direct impacts to any local marine ecosystems affected by the construction and safety of consuming these fish.
“These samples were collected in late February 2025, in the days after the period of [antibiotic] dosing ended, when antibiotic residue was most likely to be present in fish and the environment.” – Dr. Veitch
In response, the EPA decided to test extensively at Zuidpool South. None were found to have any antibiotic residues above the reporting limit. Yet the occurrence of high residue levels in wild fish continues to raise the concern of regulators and consumers.
Industry Comparisons and Regulatory Challenges
In 2022, rival tassal faced a vibrio outbreak at its Sheppards lease. They ultimately had to use 675 kilograms of Oxytetracycline to put a lid on it. Huon Aquaculture has used massive amounts of antibiotics during the current outbreak. This intense use has recently attracted heightened scrutiny from environmental advocates and regulators.
Dr. Veitch discovered some extremely concerning results, but determined that eating moderate amounts of wild fish from these regions is safe. There is no urgent public health threat. The EPA has refused to release data on the amount of antibiotic that Huon Aquaculture is using now, claiming commercial in confidence.
“That concluded that consuming foreseeable quantities of such wild fish does not raise public health concerns,” – Dr. Veitch
This canary in the coal mine situation has alarming public health repercussions. It would severely undermine Huon Aquaculture’s market reputation and procedural diligence in a marketplace that is rapidly moving toward valuing environmental stewardship and transparency.
Corporate Accountability and Future Actions
Huon Aquaculture, which is now owned by Brazilian giant JBS, had its RSPCA certification pulled last year as a result of these changes. The suspension of his certification is an accommodation to deepening public concern over animal welfare and environmental damage caused by the impacts of such industrial aquaculture practices.
Drone footage released by the Bob Brown Foundation showed Huon Aquaculture workers disposing of live salmon alongside dead stock, further fueling criticism of the company’s practices during the mass mortality event. The animal welfare issues exposed by this footage have sparked a national debate about minimum animal welfare standards and corporate responsibility within the pork industry.
EPA has also undertaken studies of wild fish at multiple sites. They’ll be taking additional samples to test along Roaring Beach, south of Surveyors Bay and Conleys Beach. Aquenal plans to publish the results of these and further public surveys in future reports. These results could further expose the environmental impact of Huon Aquaculture’s operations.
