Task Force Established to Investigate Links Between Orchard Sprays and Fish Mortalities at Australian bass hatchery

摘要

In the past three issues we have described the situation at Gwen Gilson's Sunland fish hatchery in the Noosa area of Queensland Australia, where serious larval deformities, and mass mortalities of broodfish, larvae, chickens and other domestic animalshave been linked to the spraying of pesticides and fungicides on an adjacent macadamia orchard.The situation at Sunland, fueled by media exposure, is finally developing into a full-scale investigation. An official taskforce established to determine any linkage between the spraying and the hatchery's problems includes representatives from the DPFIwith experts from the fields of bio-security and fisheries, the EPA, Queensland Health, Sunshine Coast Regional Council, Australian Macadamia Association, Aquaculture Association of Queensland and private veterinary representatives, including Matt Landos, (who has been advising Gwen Gilson, the hatchery owner, and who first made the link with pesticide spraying) and an independent ecotoxicologist, Associate Professor Heather Chapman from Griffith University. Professor Chapman's research expertise includes eco-toxicology, and she has a range of water quality management credentials.