Tassal, a Canadian-owned seafood company in Tasmania, will start injecting salmon with the antibiotic oxytetracycline to treat a bacterial outbreak affecting fish at a pen in the D'Entrecasteaux Channel. This method is being used as a preventive measure ahead of an expected marine heat wave that could lead to mass fish deaths due to Piscirickettsia salmonis bacteria. The company awaits federal regulator approval to use florfenicol, another antibiotic previously suspended over environmental concerns. Tassal plans to inject about 10 kilograms of oxytetracycline this week, treating fish individually and monitoring their recovery, while the industry continues to grapple with managing disease outbreaks in farmed salmon populations.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
In short:
Seafood giant Tassal will begin injecting salmon in a Tasmanian pen with the antibiotic oxytetracycline.
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Tassal → begin → oxytetracycline
The industry has been grappling with how to prevent mass fish deaths during the past two summers.
What's next?
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What → grapple → summers
The federal regulator is assessing the industry's request for a florfenicol permit after its use was suspended.
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use → assess → permit
A salmon company will begin individually injecting diseased fish in Tasmanian waters with an antibiotic this week, in what it says is a new practice for the state.
Tassal, the Canadian-owned seafood giant, said it will use oxytetracycline (OTC) to treat a bacterial outbreak in fish at a lease in Tasmania's south, in the D'Entrecasteaux Channel, on Thursday.
The announcement follows the salmon industry's controversial use of the antibiotic florfenicol last summer, which was dispersed in the water with salmon food.
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which → begin → food
Both antibiotics treat disease in farmed salmon caused by the bacteria Piscirickettsia salmonis, which has led to mass fish deaths when waters warm during the summer months in recent years.
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waters → treat → years
The resultant dead fish and the proliferation of antibiotics in the marine environment have made the industry the subject of the ire of environmentalists, swimmers, recreational fishers and the wild fisheries sector.
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industry → make → environmentalists
Tassal waiting for approval to use banned antibiotic again
Ahead of last summer, the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) approved the industry's use of florfenicol in southern Tasmanian waters.
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Authority → wait → waters
The APVMA retracted the licence in March, citing an "unacceptable risk of residue exposure to non-target species".
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APVMA → retract → species
In the first three months of this year, the industry used more than five tonnes of florfenicol trying to control a disease outbreak that killed 9,000 tonnes of farmed fish.
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that → use → fish
In a statement today, a Tassal spokesperson said the company was waiting for approval to once again use florfenicol to treat disease outbreaks.
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company → say → outbreaks
"Florfenicol in feed is the most effective option, and while we await a permit for it, we're using OTC where required," they said.
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they → await → OTC
OTC has been used by the industry in the past, but the spokesperson said this would be the first time it is used to treat fish at sea.
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it → use → sea
They said about 10 kilograms of OTC would be used in the first pen on Thursday, with fish individually anaesthetised, injected and then monitored for recovery.
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fish → say → recovery
"Treating early, while fish are healthy enough to handle, protects their welfare and limits the spread of disease,"the spokesperson said.
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spokesperson → treat → spread
Despite the preference for florfenicol, Tassal said direct injection of OTC uses "a fraction of the medicine needed for medicated feed and is expected to deliver a more targeted treatment".
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injection → say → treatment
Tassal rival Huon Aquaculture tried to use OTC to overcome disease outbreaks in coastal pens last year, but ruled it "largely ineffective" before the first florfenicol approval.
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it → try → approval
At the time, the industry argued florfenicol had a range of advantages over oxytetracycline because it required lower dosages, lower levels were excreted by fish, and it had lower toxicity for aquatic organisms.
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it → argue → organisms
Animal welfare a top priority, industry says
John Whittington, the chief executive of industry body Salmon Tasmania, said he was bracing for a marine heatwave this summer.
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he → say → heatwave
He said across the industry, fish were being bred and fed for resilience to warmer waters, and would be vaccinated against disease before being released into pens.
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fish → say → pens
But, he said, florfenicol remains the best treatment option for disease outbreaks, and the industry planned to use it as soon as possible, if approval is granted by the APVMA.
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approval → say → APVMA
"We are doing everything we can to ensure the welfare of our animals over summer is maintained," Dr Whittington said.
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Whittington → do → summer
However, he said the industry was also aware of how its use of florfenicol might affect wild fisheries such as rock lobster and abalone.
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use → say → lobster
"We will work with those sectors to minimise any impacts on their industries to the best that we can,"he said.
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we → work → best
A Tasmanian government spokesperson said any decision regarding florfenicol was the responsibility of the APVMA, but they expect the salmon industry to "work constructively with the wild catch sector in their shared environment".
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industry → say → environment
They also said they expected the salmon industry to work with commercial fishers on the question of any compensation that may be required if antibiotic use leads to the closure of fisheries, as occurred last summer.
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use → say → fisheries
Greens MP Vica Bayley said the use of antibiotics was not sustainable.
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use → say → antibiotics
"To simply be treating diseased fish with antibiotics isn't a solution for the environment, [and] it's not really a solution for consumers,"he said.
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it → treat → consumers,"he
The APVMA was contacted for comment.
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APVMA → contact → comment
The Aporia