00:00 Beneath these waters is a species at risk of extinction.
00:06 But Tasmania's environmental regulator says conditions are improving for the endangered
00:11 Morgian skate.
00:12 The harbour is in the best position it has been since the EPA took over regulatory control
00:18 in 2016.
00:20 Macquarie Harbour is home to big salmon farms.
00:24 Scientists say they're the main cause of the skate's population decline, along with climate
00:28 change and hydroelectric operations.
00:31 In January, sea floor conditions near salmon pens met the regulator's standards at all
00:36 monitoring stations.
00:38 We have learnt from the past, looked at things, adjusted things and we now have the monitoring
00:45 telling us that things are in good shape.
00:48 And at the depths where the skate prefers to live, oxygen levels have been above target
00:53 over the past year.
00:54 But they fell short at half of the monitoring stations at deeper levels, where the skate
00:59 occasionally lays its eggs.
01:01 Everyone accepts it will take a while for the harbour to restore or recover to what
01:07 it was pre-2012.
01:09 The industry is hopeful a giant underwater bubbler will further improve conditions in
01:14 the harbour.
01:15 But despite 18 skates hatching in a captive breeding program, environmentalists say there's
01:21 only one long-term solution.
01:24 It is still as under threat as it has ever been and this industry needs to get out of
01:31 the harbour and it needs to get out quickly because that's what the science says.
01:35 We don't understand why the oxygen levels have gone up.
01:39 It's quite likely that it was the result of a natural event of inwelling of waters from
01:45 the ocean.
01:47 Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek is shifting through two and a half thousand submissions
01:51 before deciding whether to review if salmon farming should be allowed in the harbour.
01:56 The state government and opposition both support the industry and are urging the minister not
02:01 to put jobs at risk.
02:02 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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