Extinction Warrant Signed - Australian Marine Conservation Society

It’s a betrayal, friend!

The Australian Government has set a shocking, dangerous precedent for polluting industries to prevail at all costs, risking the extinction of the Maugean skate.

It’s an extinction warrant for the Maugean skate.

The Albanese Government and the Coalition have joined forces to ram through changes to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.

This rushed amendment, weakening our already broken nature laws, was passed through both houses of Parliament in just two days – with support from both major parties – denying it the proper scrutiny environmental legislation demands.

These changes ignore scientific recommendations, overrides due process, and disregards public concern.

This will allow polluting and damaging salmon farming to continue unchecked in Macquarie Harbour, even as the Maugean skate faces extinction.

Both major parties have shown yet again that polluting industries prevail at all costs.

This Bill is a betrayal — of science, of public trust and of the government’s own commitment to strengthen our nature laws and ensure there are no new extinctions.

Our political leadership has gone backwards, weakening our already broken nature laws and setting a dangerous precedent: that endangered species on the brink can be sacrificed without scrutiny.

All donations over $2 are 100% tax-deductible. Our important campaigns are not funded by Government grants, we are totally reliant on generous people like you to protect Australia’s oceans and the animals that call them home.

A Special Gift

As a special commemorative thank you for your significant gift to save the skate and speaking up for nature, the first 50 donations over $150 will receive a special Maugean skate lapel pin!

Kindly donated by artists Red Parka to support vital marine conservation work.

The endangered Maugean skate, found only in Tasmania’s Macquarie Harbour, has been around since the dinosaurs but is now on the brink of extinction.

Intensive salmon farming, the primary threat to the skate, has driven oxygen levels in the harbour to catastrophically low levels. Salmon farming has decimated their habitat, poor water quality is suffocating them, and time is running out.

This amendment will allow polluting and damaging salmon farming to relentlessly continue in Macquarie Harbour.

Scientists have repeatedly warned that salmon farming is the key threat threatening the skate with extinction, yet this new law will allow operations to continue, irrespective of the impact on this endangered species.

The Maugean Skate has been around for millions of years and now only exists in one location, Macquarie Harbour. With their numbers still perilously low, we’re committed to stopping them going the way of the Tasmanian Tiger!

At this rate, the skate may be the world’s first extinction of a marine fish directly because of aquaculture. A single extreme weather event could still push it over the edge.

The passed amendment will allow polluting and damaging salmon farming to continue unchecked in Macquarie Harbour, even as the Maugean skate faces extinction.

It’s not too late to change course — but it soon will be for the Maugean skate.

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The Australian Government has set a dangerous precedent under our nature laws by prioritising corporate profits over saving the Maugean skate from extinction.

We are working to:

Save the Maugean skate from extinction.
Deliver strong laws for nature.
Hold unsustainable seafood production accountable.

Your donation will go into immediate action as AMCS campaigns to protect the Maugean skate.

Your dedicated team working tirelessly to protect the Maugean Skate, deliver strong nature laws and hold commercial aquaculture and fisheries accountable are:

Dr. Leonardo Guida

Shark Campaign Manager

Conservation representative on the national Maugean Skate Recovery Team, speaking to the science, policy and conservation actions needed to save the skate from extinction. Sharks and rays are critical keystone species. We’re fighting to save endangered sharks.

Alexia Wellbelove

Fisheries and Threatened Species Campaign Manager

Australia’s current nature laws are weak, outdated and failing. Nature can’t afford any more business as usual. We’re on the frontlines fighting for strong new laws to stop the destruction and restore wildlife and seascapes.

Adrian Meder

Sustainable Seafood Program Manager

Our oceans are not an endless resource.
We need responsible seafood production with sustainable practices that ensure an abundance of fish for the future. We’re assessing fisheries to keep seafood production accountable.

Critically endangered species can’t be sacrificed for profits.

This last week has been devastating but it’s also brought the fight into the light. It’s also highlighted that our campaign to prevent the extinction of the Maugean skate and the need to fight for stronger nature laws has never been more important.

The work only increases from here, both to save the skate and fight for strong laws for nature.

Donate Today