Suzuki on salmon

March 8, 2000
Issue 

Suzuki on salmon

By Alex Bainbridge

HOBART — Renowned Canadian environmentalist David Suzuki has criticised the World Trade Organisation's record on ecological issues, telling a public meeting here on February 29 that the WTO could not be trusted.

Suzuki had been asked for his opinion on the Tasmanian state government's ban on the import of uncooked salmon in defiance of a WTO ruling. The WTO said that Australia must allow such imports if it is to comply with international "free trade" rules.

The federal government and the Quarantine Service have taken action to comply with the WTO. The salmon industry in Tasmania, however, claims that raw salmon imports threaten the industry's "disease-free" status and should be opposed on scientific grounds.

Suzuki claimed that every time an ecological issue had been taken before the WTO, the WTO had ruled against the environment.

But he also criticised the salmon industry for not being environmentally sustainable. He said that salmon are an imported species and should be farmed in solid tanks or on dry land to prevent pollution of waterways and escaped salmon disrupting the ecosystem.

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