Council acknowledges the concerns of the community regarding the substance that recently washed up on Verona Sands beach.
Background:
The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) responded to the pollution incident at Verona Sands beach on Monday, 17 February, by taking samples to identify the substance. The substance was cleaned up by Huon Aquaculture. The EPA also informed Council of the above actions and remains in contact regarding any updates.
Preliminary results:
Preliminary results from sampling conducted by the EPA indicate that the substance is fish oil mixed with sand. While health risks from fish oil are unlikely, there are still potential issues around odour nuisance and environmental impacts from this kind of incident. An initial update from the EPA on the sampling results is available on their website: EPA investigating biological material found on southern Tasmania beach | EPA Tasmania
Role of EPA:
The EPA have taken the lead in responding to this incident as they are the responsible statutory agency for marine pollution events. This is defined in the memorandum of understanding between the EPA and the Local Government Association of Tasmania (LGAT). MoU – LGAT and EPA
The EPA are also the lead agency for regulating level 2 environmental activities as defined by the Environmental Management and Pollution Control Act 1994 (EMPCA). Finfish farming is a level 2 activity, making the EPA well placed to follow up on any links to aquaculture regarding the Verona Sands pollution incident.
Role of Council:
As defined by the Local Government Act, Council does have a role in providing for the health, safety and welfare of the community and representing and promoting the interests of the community. Council will be officially seeking clarification from the EPA as the regulator of the aquaculture industry on what measures are in place to prevent an incident like this from happening again.
Council is continuing its recreational water quality sampling program over summer and we have today (25/02/2025) undertaken additional sampling at Verona Sands. We are monitoring the recent incident to determine if it has impacted recreational water quality and will take appropriate action based on the results. Any test results that do not meet the limits set in the Recreational Water Quality Guidelines 2007 will lead to signage at the affected beach and additional sampling.
The results for Council’s annual recreational water sampling programs are available on Council’s website: https://www.huonvalley.tas.gov.au/council/reports-and-publications/other-reports-and-studies/#at-146085
*Image credit: shared with permission from Huon
Facebook post 17 February 2025 (Facebook)