WELL the unfolding story here is that 'a Councillor' who as matter of interest sought information about fish deaths that had been reported to him. Rather than simply accept an unverified report he imagined that he could do a fact check and accordingly made a request for a copy of a document he understood Council had on file on the subject.Interestingly, he received a response from a senior Council officer to the effect that since he was a 'Third Party' the document couldn't be released to him. A very interesting proposition indeed.
Not satisfied with the response he sought to have the copy released to him given that he was a Councillor and he wanted to know facts as they were known albeit he was seeking information from a range of sources. The documentation was not forthcoming.
Ultimately, he asked A QUESTION WITHOT NOTICE in open Council Feb 23 was given an answer to the effect that given that the document belonged to the Launceston Flood Authority, albet established by the Launceston City Council as
a single Authority pursuant to the provisions of Section 30 of the Local Government Act
1993, and despite the GM(AKA CEO) sitting on that authority, he could not release the documentation. Nonetheless it seems that he undertook to investigate what could be done. The minutes will surely record his undertaking.
The lack of transparency and accountability on display here is palpable not to mention the blatant obfuscation no doubt subliminally sanction by SECTION 62/2 of the Local Govt Act. Moreover, on the face of it, SECTION 65 seems to be compromised as well.
So, there are some question hanging like:
- Who might address this issue and when?
- Pursuant to that, why is this happening and to what purpose?
- Indeed, is it likely that the Director of Local Government might do or say anything?
- Might it not be the GMN/CEO's task to facilitate a Councillor's research?
- Did the Councillor have unreasonable expectations of Council officers in regard to facilitating research?
THIS INFORMATION BELOW CAN BE FOUND USING GOOGLE!
AND QUITE QUICKLY
Thousands of fish dead after incident in state's North ....
A Northern-Tasmanian marine farming company has been hit with what's been described as a "shocking mass fish death". ..................... Petuna Aquaculture's chief executive, Ruben Alvarez, said Petuna was currently dealing with elevated mortality at its marine farm in Rowella, in West Tamar. ..................... "The farm experienced a temperature spike in an unusually short time frame, followed by a prolonged period of long hot days," he said. "For now, our immediate concern is to safeguard those fish that have not been affected by removing those that have perished, as well as supporting our farming team who are working to manage the situation." ..................... EPA director Wes Ford said he was first notified of the early signs of the incident about 10 days ago, but said it didn't really begin at a mass scale until last Tuesday. ..................... "As understood by the vets, the incident was a temperature-related issue," he said. ..................... "The warm summer we've had to date, and the lack of any significant rainfall flowing down the river, has caused the temperature in the Tamar River to increase." ..................... "If you look at the history of the Salmon industry, you'll see this sort of thing has happened during various hot summers ... this is one of the challenges of farming in the marine environment." ..................... Mr Ford said a long-term solution to the issue of water temperature could be to implement selective breeding of fish, by selecting genetic lines of fish that are more tolerant to warmer water. He also said it was unknown how many fish were effected by the incident at Petuna's farm at the moment, but revealed the number was definitely in the thousands. "The company has a standard process to recover mortalities, in which the fish are extracted using a fish pump, put into a truck, and taken to an EPA approved facility for disposal,' he said. ..................... After becoming aware of the circumstances, Foundation Fish Farm Campaigner at the Bob Brown Foundation, Rebecca Howarth, condemned the State's fishing industry and called for urgent change. ..................... "Salmon are sentient beings and experience stress and pain ... they die from suffocation en masse," she said. ..................... Tasmanian Alliance for Marine Protection (TAMP) Co-Chairman, Peter George, said the incident came as no surprise to the group which has relentlessly urged the industry to transition to land-based production. ..................... "Tasmania's waters are warming far faster than anywhere else in Australia and the entire industry is already struggling with temperatures rising towards levels salmon cannot survive in," he said. ..................... "TAMP calls on the EPA to be absolutely honest in revealing the details and cause of the fish kill, particularly in light of recent reports of other major salmon kills in the south of the state." Thousands of fish dead after incident in state's North
David Maynard has worked for the South Australian rock lobster industry, lectured on fisheries and the marine environment for the Australian Maritime College and University of Tasmania and was most recently the Senior Curator, Natural Sciences at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in Launceston.
He has joined FRDC’s new national network of extension officers, comprising Dr Matt Jones in Victoria, Kris Cooling in NSW, Steve Eayrs in Queensland, Lauren Thornton in the Northern Territory, Felicity Horn in Western Australia and Nathan Bicknell in South Australia.
Their role is to work with Indigenous, commercial and recreational fishers and aquaculturists to strengthen the exchange of information with stakeholders and increase the uptake of FRDC’s research and development.
David is based in Deviot, north of Launceston, placing him in a central location to service all of Tasmania. He said he was excited to return to fishing and aquaculture and to have the opportunity to use his practical and scientific knowledge and communications skills to extend FRDC’s research.
“I’m keen to help our stakeholders deal with the challenges facing us, including issues such as the need for sustainable practices and adaptation to climate change,” he said.
“I have always been into the hands-on nature of applied science and I think I can bring together my understanding of science and fishing to increase the uptake of research outcomes to benefit the people involved.
“It’s about giving people the opportunity to see the value in changing methods and approaches.”
As a lecturer for the Australian Maritime College and University of Tasmania, David taught topics including fishing industry operations, gears and methods and fishing gear technologies. He taught at-sea operations on the Fisheries Training Vessel Bluefin and trained students on at-sea research. David also worked as a research scientist for the South Australian Rock Lobster Research Association and as a microbiologist and export officer for Tasmanian Smokehouse.
In his most recent role at the Queen Victoria Museum, he led a small team, managed a significant biodiversity collection, supported university students working on related research and communicated the value of biodiversity to the general public.
David is a recreational fisher and keen underwater photographer. His photography has supported two major exhibitions, and one accompanying book, Beneath the Tamar: More than Silt. David is also a published researcher, exploring diverse topics including fishing gear selectivity, insect behaviour, climate change and Tasmanian tigers.
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Tamar silt-raking exceeds expectations … By Matt Maloney Updated September 4 2013 - 11:20am, first published September 3 2013 - 10:15pm
THE Tamar estuary's mud flats and shoals have been reduced to below low tide levels, Launceston Flood Authority chairman Alan Birchmore said.
……. Mr Birchmore estimated that 200,000 cubic metres of sediment could have been removed from this year's raking program, which finished Sunday - double the amount that the authority expected to shift. ……. He said an original 2-kilometre rowing course had been mostly reinstated and the estuary now had an appeal normally only witnessed during high tide ……. The flood authority this year contracted out five months' sediment-raking in 10-day bouts during king tides. ……. He said fine particles carried by the North and South Esk rivers and mixed with the Tamar's saltwater would continue to cause at least 30,000 cubic metres of sediment a year but could be effectively managed by the authority's sediment removal program, budgeted at $300,000 annually. ……. Mr Birchmore said that the raking had resulted in full advantage being taken from winter floods, compared with the bigger floods of 2011 which left the banks largely untouched. ……. Hover your mouse over the image to see how these Tamar River silt levels have changed. ……. Mr Birchmore said state government and opposition commitments to the Tamar meant that the raking program would continue next year regardless of next year's state election results. ……. He said the authority with TasWater, NRM North and the Launceston City Council had recently decided on a collaborative approach to river management and to work out ``shortcuts to improvement''. ……. ``The moments of opportunity is now that we are on the front foot with a clean win over the mud flats and funds are on offer to develop solutions for the rivers, outside normal plans and budgets,'' Mr Birchmore said.
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Sediment build-up in the Tamar estuary has been a cause of frustration for residents for years, but was the previous solution of raking the silt really worth it? ……. Last week community group the Tamar Action Group called on the Tamar Estuary Management Taskforce to reinstate raking as a matter of urgency. ……. TAG spokesperson Andrew Lovitt said at the time restoring raking would reinstate the community's faith in TEMT, and vented frustration about the slow pace of change in the estuary's appearance. ……. The issue of sediment build-up on the estuary is frustrating river users, with dire consequences on the horizon if no action is taken. ……. A number of community groups have cited sediment build up as their main concern about the river and say its aesthetics and uses are limited because of the mud.
Expert explains: the problem with raking the Tamar's mud …….What is raking and how does it help? ……. The City of Launceston council was raking the estuary between 2012 and 2018, in funding collaboration with the state government. ……. Raking is the process by which a barge travels along the estuary and stirs up parts of the sediment build-up into the water, which is then pushed to other parts of the estuary. ……. It differs to dredging, whereby sediment is pumped out of the water and dumped on land or used for other purposes. The Tamar Estuary has been both raked and dredged in the past.
Why did raking the Tamar Estuary stop? … The City of Launceston, on behalf of the Launceston Flood Authority, gained a permit from the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment to rake the Tamar. ……. In 2019, the council announced it had halted the process, as a condition of the permit required an independent report of its impacts be conducted. ……. That report was conducted by TEER scientific and technical committee chairwoman Rebecca Kelly.
Our River - Exploring the health of the Tamar Estuary: …… How the Tamar became polluted and what is being done to fix it ……. Chamber calls for independent body to oversee river cleanup
Why the Tamar Action Group want more done to fix the river …. What scientists say about the health of the Tamar River ……. Swimming in the Tamar near Launceston may never be safe' ……. We refuse to learn to love Tamar River's mud' ……. Dr Kelly said what she examined was did the raking work and what was the impact on water quality. She said when considering whether raking was effective she looked a t three prongs: was there less sediment, was the visible mud flats removed and how did the raking effect water quality. ……. She said the Launceston Flood Authority's permit required it to conduct water quality testing on the day of raking, to look at the impact the work was having on water quality in front and behind the barge, but no non-localised work was required. ……. "What we found when we looked at the question of whether it was effective, was no, it wasn't," she said. ……. The sedimentation on the mud flats was not dramatically reduced. by the raking operations. Sediment is pushed tidally, so it may have been moved around elsewhere but it would eventually settle back in place.It also caused sedimentation to be pushed into the channels, where it affected users such as the Home Point cruise ships. ……. Tamar Estuary and Esk Rivers Program manager Jo Fearman, scientific and technical committee chairwoman Rebecca Kelly and water and strategic projects manager Andrew Baldwin Tamar Estuary and Esk Rivers Program manager Jo Fearman, scientific and technical committee chairwoman Rebecca Kelly and water and strategic projects manager Andrew Baldwin …….
What was the impact on the ecosystem? … Dr Kelly said there was no data collected that would categorically show the impact the raking had on the estuary's fish and bird life, but there were some indications that it had significant consequences. ……. "The silt binds up the heavy metals, so what happens is when the pollutants enter the water the mudflats sort of bury them," she said. ……. "So when raking was occurring it was pulling up the sediment and releasing those metals and other pollutants into the water." ……. Water quality was downgraded during that time, but the most recent report from TEER showed the water quality had improved, which Dr Kelly said was a result of not raking the estuary.
What has been the impact of not raking? ….. Dr Kelly said the visible mud flats had come back, which is why she understood the community concern.
……. However, she said data collected on sediment levels in the estuary showed that there was not significantly more mud than in the past. ……. She said sedimentation build up was a natural part of how the estuary functioned, and it did unfortunately build up in places where there was a lot of infrastructure - such as the marina. ……. The Tamar Yacht Club is on the brink of moving its headquarters from Launceston to Beauty Point, which echoes moves by Launceston developer Errol Stewart. ……. Mr Stewart, who was the driving force behind the development of Launceston's Seaport, said he has plans to move his marina from the Tamar to Beauty Point. ……. Both cited concerns over mud and sediment build up, making mooring boats impossible. ……. Tamar Rowing Club have also cited concerns over the mud build-up, saying they have not been able to row on the estuary because of it. Sediment management solutions have not yet been revealed by TEMT, but it's understood potential alternative solutions are being examined.
What is the way forward? … TEMT is examining alternative proposals for sediment management of the Tamar Estuary in a report that's due for release this year. ……. The report, which will examine future management of the estuary is expected to be released this year. ……. TEMT chairman Gary Swain said new work in sediment management was underway, which he said would help guide future decision making. ……. "At the most basic level there are two challenges facing the estuary - water quality and sediment management," Mr Swain said. ……. "The River Health Action Plan is primarily focused on the former, and is already making significant gains in terms of water quality improvements in local waterways." ……. Mr Swain said while sediment was not a challenge for the health of the estuary, some people find it an aesthetic challenge. ……. "TEMT is undertaking a scientifically robust, evidence-based evaluation of the
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Tamar River estuary raking called off by City of Launceston council By Tarlia Jordan
Updated October 10 2019 - 8:59am, first published October 9 2019 - 4:15pm
Sediment river raking called off after being ineffectiveRaking of the Tamar River estuary has stopped due to it being less effective than predicted, the City of Launceston council says. ……. The sediment, which is often seen on the Tamar River when the tide is out, was last raked earlier this year. ……. At the council's meeting next week, it will discuss a report that showed most of the sediment moved through raking has settled in the estuary's navigational channels. ……. The council is expected to look into going back to dredging the river, which has worked in the past, despite it being more expensive. ……. The Tamar Estuary Management Taskforce separately commissioned the Trevallyn Flow Releases Study in 2018, to evaluate the ability of water releases from Trevallyn Dam to remove sediment from the upper estuary, both with and without sediment raking. ……. This study demonstrated that even a release of all the water inTrevallyn Dam down the South Esk River would have a negligible effect on silt mobilisation. ……. According to the study, releasing all the water in Trevallyn Dam would cost Hydro Tasmania about $100,000 in lost electricity generation. With raking, the total cost would be closer to $190,000. ……. Even then, sediment returns within three months. ……. NRM North chief executive Rosanna Coombes said the incoming tide in the upper estuary is stronger than the outgoing tide. ……. "This results in a normal pattern of sediment collecting in the upper estuary," she said. ……. "Naturally high-flow events, such as flooding of the North and South Esk, are significantly more effective at mobilising sediment than targeted releases of water through the dam. ……. "The June 2016 flood event removed 160,000 cubic metres of sediment from the Yacht Basin. The highest modelled water flow release from Trevallyn Dam can be expected to move 10,000 cubic metres from the mudflats." ……. Hydro Tasmania's Jesse Clark, welcomed the research and said that it was important to understand the effectiveness of the options before committing to a course of action. ……. The council meeting will be held at 1pm on Thursday, October 17 at the Town Hall.
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NAMES OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE PAID ATTENTION TO THE CONDITION OF kanamalukaTAMAR HERE …Andrew Nikolic … Alan Harris … Geoff Lyons .. Alan Birchmore … TAG spokesperson Andrew Lovitt … Dr Rebecca Kelly et al
