Underwater seal crackers are pyrotechnic devices that are primarily used to deter pinnipeds. They work by producing a loud bang. Each device is a wound cardboard cylinder 83mm long and 16mm in diameter.  It has a waterproof fuse on one end and is weighted on the other to improve its sinking characteristics. Depending on the salinity of the water and the arc through which it was thrown, each unit (“Cracker”) should detonate within 8-9 seconds and should sink to a depth of 3-5 metres before underwater detonation (Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE)).

Currently, seal crackers are considered by ASC as ADDs/AHDs and their use are not allowed under criteria 2.5.1 of the ASC Salmon Standard v1.4.

The approval for the use of crackers is requested for the following reasons:

1.      The use of crackers is legal and strictly regulated in Tasmania.

2.      Preventative and mitigation measures are in place

3.      Seals pose a real threat to the safety of Tassal staff.

4.      Seal welfare can be compromised should they enter marine farming infrastructure.

5.      The risk of harm to other cetaceans is unlikely.

6.      Stock welfare can be compromised should seals enter the cages.

7.      Use of crackers has been substantially declining since 2016.

Use of Crackers is Legal and Strictly Regulated in Tasmania

Wildlife interactions with Aquaculture operations are strictly regulated in Tasmania. Under the Tasmanian Nature Conservation (Wildlife) Regulations 2021, specific seal deterrent devices are legal when approved by the Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE).  Salmon aquaculture operators are additionally subject to practice and infrastructure requirements as set out in the Seal Management Framework 2018 (https://nre.tas.gov.au/Documents/Seal%20Management%20Framework.pdf) and the associated Minimum Req​​​uirements 2018A (https://nre.tas.gov.au/Documents/Seal%20Management%20Framework.pdf).  Under the Minimum Requirements 2018A the use of crackers is permitted.  The key regulatory requirements that must be adhered to include;

• Cracker devices are classified as a Class 1.4E explosive under the Australian Dangerous Goods Code and as such are regulated in Tasmania under the Explosives Act 2012 and associated Statutory Rules. All applicable legislative requirements for possession, transport, use and storage of Cracker devices must be complied with.
• Cracker devices may only be deployed by holders of a valid Seal Deterrent Device Permit, within the boundaries of the marine farming lease
•  Dispense and storage of cracker devices is restricted to approved locations
• Cracker devices must not be used in a manner likely to injure a fur seal.
• Cracker devices must not be used on a marine farming lease when a whale or dolphin is known to be within that marine farming lease.
• Records of the usage, rate of usage and effectiveness of Cracker devices must be kept. Records are to be provided to NRE within five (5) business days from the end of each calendar month.
• Deterrent usage (including crackers) is published on the NRE website.

Prevention and mitigatand mitigation of wildlife interactions.

Significant innovation and resources have been allocated towards mitigating as many wildlife interactions as possible through infrastructure improvements. Starting in 2018, Tassal begun rolling out the use of Sanctuary pens, a $90m infrastructure investment project, aimed at further restricting wildlife from accessing the fish in pens. As outlined in the 2022 Tassal Sustainability Report, seal breaches have significantly reduced from nearly 5,000 breaches per annum to just 509 in FY22. To further reduce the seals interest in interacting with the infrastructure, mortalities are removed as often as practicable using divers and also airlift infrastructure (acting as a vaccuum). Dependent on the season mortalities are cleared from pens as often as twice per day. At minimum, the salmon pens have all mortalities removed once per week. This reduces the likelihood that seals are going to target the bases of the cages to eat the deceased salmon and cause holes in the infrastructure. A business Wildlife Committee is in place, in which one of the primary goals is to continue to maintain a limited use of seal deterrents. Meeting monthly, the committee closely tracks progress on this goal and has the capacity to implement projects that are identified to assist in this continued decline in use. Safety of Staff At Tasmanian marine farming sites, Australian Fur Seals (Arctocephalus pusillus) frequently interact with the infrastructure. The Australian Fur Seal is the largest species of fur seal, globally. Females grow to 1.70m in length and weigh up to 120kg. Male fur seals grow to 2.25m with some weighing up to 360kg (https://nre.tas.gov.au/wildlife-management/fauna-of-tasmania/mammals/seals/australian-fur-seal). Due to the location of the marine leases, the seals are primarily male. Interaction with a seal of this size poses a significant safety risk to employees working on the marine farms. Gaining food reward is a powerful motivator for seals to develop novel behaviours to breach aquaculture sea pens in marine coastal waters. Should employees be in the path of the seal, they can become aggressive. Seal behaviour tends to start with barking, then progresses to lunging and can result in staff being physically pushed or bitten. Aggressive interactions from seals are not uncommon. In the past 12 months (24th October 2022 – 24th October 2023), there has been 16 aggressive seal interactions recorded in the business safety system. Farm workers are acutely aware of the challenges and risks of sharing space with seals and receive annual training to mitigate these risks. Dedicated Wildlife Officers are also employed at all business marine operation sites who are specially trained in the humane management of wildlife, as well as the safe use of seal deterrents. The safety of our staff is paramount. In some instances, the use of a deterrent (for example, a cracker) is required to mitigate a potentially dangerous interaction. The first line of defence against seal interactions at Tassal is the use of well maintained, robust and built for purpose exclusion infrastructure. However, there are several onsite farming activities that coincide with increased seal interactions which consequently can lead to a threat to the welfare of the staff or seal. The use of crackers allows employees to mitigate this risk in the most effective and lowest risk of negative impact. The Minimum Requirements 2018A (MR) defines the level of incidents. A level 1 interaction is defined as an ‘unprovoked behaviour by a clearly identifiable fur seal that results in direct contract and/or injury with a person, or with clothing or equipment worn by that person’. A level 2 interaction is defined as ‘unprovoked behaviour by a clearly identifiable fur seal that presents an unacceptable risk of injury to a person’. Action will be taken wherever possible to mitigate the possibility of level 1 or 2 incidents occurring. As a result, threatening behaviour from a seal can initiate a cracker to be deployed. Seal Welfare When a seal gets past the first line of defence (exclusion infrastructure), it is considered a seal breach. A seal can breach during active operations (employees are at the cage during bathing or diving operations for example) or when no staff are present (i.e., seals have worked a hole in the net and have entered the pen). Action is taken as soon as practicable to safely remove the seal from the cage. To remove the seal from the pen in the first instance, the staff will lower a section of net and use verbal deterrence to encourage the seal to exit. If this is unsuccessful, a deterrent can be used. An operational scenario that needs to be considered is that when one seal is being encouraged to exit a pen, other seals can take this as an opportunity to breach. The use of deterrents reduces the risk of more seals entering the pen whilst the seal that breached is exiting. If a seal has breached a pen and the removal attempts are not successful, the seal can become stressed. The use of crackers reduces the risk of the seal entering the pen, or if the seal has already breached, reduces the amount of time the seal is in the pen. This reduces the risk of stress and compromised seal welfare. Furthermore, during infrastructure change operations (i.e., no fish in the pens, but the nets being removed for cleaning), it is imperative that there are no seals in the vicinity to mitigate the risk of entanglement. The use of crackers allows for seals to remain out of the operational zone during this activity, thus reducing the risk of entanglement. It should also be noted that crackers are approved for use under the RSPCA Approved Farming Scheme Standard – Farmed Atlantic Salmon. Stock Welfare Seal breaches can result in significant salmon mortality and compromised salmon welfare. Seal breaches can also cause stress to the salmon. This can lead to a several welfare impacts to the salmon, including,: – Trauma – the seals will frequently bite salmon without consuming the fish. – Impacted feeding behaviour. – Changes to behaviour. – Reduced immune response. Furthermore, seal breaches pose significant biosecurity risks. Seals will frequently move between leases which could act as a vector for disease. It is important to minimise the likelihood of seals entering the pen. Seal crackers provide an effective mitigation strategy against seals entering the cages and causing the aforementioned impacts on the salmon. Use of Crackers has steadily declined Cracker use has been reported to NRE since 2014. Each year there has been a substantial reduction in the use of crackers. This is thought to be strongly correlated with enhanced exclusion infrastructure used since 2018 (as outlined above) as well as targeted awareness and training provided to employees. Since 2016, the use of crackers has reduced from approximately 27,000 units used per year to less than 1,000 units used in 2022. The Risk of Harm to Other Cetaceans Due to the legislative requirements and operational procedures, the risk of harm to cetaceans from using crackers is considered low. Procedures in place that state that crackers must not be used on a marine farming lease when a whale or dolphin is within 1km of the lease. NRE also states in the training delivered to authorise individuals to use crackers, that cracker devices must not be used on a marine farming lease when a whale or dolphin is known to be within that marine farming lease.

Significant innovation and resources have been allocated towards mitigating as many wildlife interactions as possible through infrastructure improvements. Starting in 2018, Tassal begun rolling out the use of Sanctuary pens, a $90m infrastructure investment project, aimed at further restricting wildlife from accessing the fish in pens. As outlined in the 2022 Tassal Sustainability Report, seal breaches have significantly reduced from nearly 5,000 breaches per annum to just 509 in FY22.

To further reduce the seals interest in interacting with the infrastructure, mortalities are removed as often as practicable using divers and also airlift infrastructure (acting as a vaccuum). Dependent on the season mortalities are cleared from pens as often as twice per day. At minimum, the salmon pens have all mortalities removed once per week. This reduces the likelihood that seals are going to target the bases of the cages to eat the deceased salmon and cause holes in the infrastructure.

A business Wildlife Committee is in place, in which one of the primary goals is to continue to maintain a limited use of seal deterrents. Meeting monthly, the committee closely tracks progress on this goal and has the capacity to implement projects that are identified to assist in this continued decline in use.

Safety of Staff

At Tasmanian marine farming sites, Australian Fur Seals (Arctocephalus pusillus) frequently interact with the infrastructure. The Australian Fur Seal is the largest species of fur seal, globally. Females grow to 1.70m in length and weigh up to 120kg. Male fur seals grow to 2.25m with some weighing up to 360kg (https://nre.tas.gov.au/wildlife-management/fauna-of-tasmania/mammals/seals/australian-fur-seal). Due to the location of the marine leases, the seals are primarily male.  Interaction with a seal of this size poses a significant safety risk to employees working on the marine farms.

Gaining food reward is a powerful motivator for seals to develop novel behaviours to breach aquaculture sea pens in marine coastal waters. Should employees be in the path of the seal, they can become aggressive. Seal behaviour tends to start with barking, then progresses to lunging and can result in staff being physically pushed or bitten.

Aggressive interactions from seals are not uncommon. In the past 12 months (24th October 2022 – 24th October 2023), there has been 16 aggressive seal interactions recorded in the business safety system.

Farm workers are acutely aware of the challenges and risks of sharing space with seals and receive annual training to mitigate these risks. Dedicated Wildlife Officers are also employed at all business marine operation sites who are specially trained in the humane management of wildlife, as well as the safe use of seal deterrents. The safety of our staff is paramount. In some instances, the use of a deterrent (for example, a cracker) is required to mitigate a potentially dangerous interaction.

The first line of defence against seal interactions at Tassal is the use of well maintained, robust and built for purpose exclusion infrastructure. However, there are several onsite farming activities that coincide with increased seal interactions which consequently can lead to a threat to the welfare of the staff or seal. The use of crackers allows employees to mitigate this risk in the most effective and lowest risk of negative impact.  

The Minimum Requirements 2018A (MR) defines the level of incidents. A level 1 interaction is defined as an ‘unprovoked behaviour by a clearly identifiable fur seal that results in direct contract and/or injury with a person, or with clothing or equipment worn by that person’. A level 2 interaction is defined as ‘unprovoked behaviour by a clearly identifiable fur seal that presents an unacceptable risk of injury to a person’. 

Action will be taken wherever possible to mitigate the possibility of level 1 or 2 incidents occurring.  As a result, threatening behaviour from a seal can initiate a cracker to be deployed.

To allow the use of seal crackers under criteria 2.5.1 of the ASC Salmon Standard v1.4 at all of Tassal’s ASC certified leases. This request meets the intent of the ASC standards as it relates to providing a safe working enviroment. The Salmon Standard rationals for criterion 6.5 states: “A safe and healthy working environment is essential for protecting workers from harm. It is critical for a responsible aquaculture operation to minimise these risks.” Given the aggressive nature of the seals in Tasmania, the request to use seal crackers is an important last line of defense for protecting the workers when a seal breaks through the seal netting. With out the option of seal crackers, Tassal does not belive they can provide a safe working enviroment for their workers. 

Whilst the purpose for the use of seal crackers is argued to be assuring staff health and safety, the use of seal crackers does also interact with requirements defined under Criteria 2.5 (“Interaction with wildlife, including predators”) of the ASC Salmon Standard v1.4.

As seal crackers are considered an ADD/AHD (as per QA327), it is within this context that the VR is reviewed as well, alongside the human health and safety perspective.

The VR outlines 7 reasons as to why seal crackers are requested to be used. Although consideration is given to various aspects (e.g. regulatory allowances, investments made by the company in equipment and staff training, risks to other cetaceans assessed as defined through regulatory requirements, etc.), it does not provide credible evidence for the risk of harm caused to seals, or their populations, as a result of using seal crackers. Arguments are made that crackers can aid in seal removal from pens or keeping seals away during operational activities.

According to the ASC Variance Request Procedure, a VR requests an adaptation of an ASC requirement to a unique local circumstance whilst adhering to the intent of the Standard.

The intent of Criteria 2.5 is to minimize the impact on wildlife populations, or individuals thereof, and that the impact of ADD/AHD use can vary significantly due to contextual factors.

The VR does not present enough credible evidence to support a case for Standard adaptation whilst adhering to the intent of the Standard (i.e. minimizing impact on wildlife). It is on this basis that the VR is not approved.