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Imported diseased prawns from China killing another vital food industry
Welcome news from the Liberal and Labor church of free trade – Adam Smith would be proud of Mr Turnbull, Mr Shorten and their Uruguay DOFAT mandarins
Today the Queensland Government has confirmed White Spot virus has been found in wild prawns in Moreton Bay off Brisbane and now cannot be stopped.
KAP Member for Kennedy, Bob Katter said, “I congratulate the Government of the Australia with their Free Trade policies and no quarantine.
“Our prawn industry has been sacrificed on the altar of Free Trade.
The sacrificial altar of free trade, a policy of the LNP and ALP, has killed off the Queensland farmed and wild prawn industry. Katter warns it will eventually decimate Far North Qld wild stocks and farms
“Not only all our industries have been exported overseas, and our jobs exported overseas but you’ve imported workers from overseas, which has been a cancer upon our pay and conditions and job opportunities in Australia — but now you’ve succeeded in destroying our oceans.
“Because the currents flow north, White Spot will now be taken up the Qld coast and infect the Great Barrier Reef.
“This was done with eyes wide open.
“Every single person associated with the prawn industry and every scientist who ever looked at this knew if you brought the prawns in, you’d bring the White Spot in… and the IHHNV and heaven only knows which hundreds of other diseases we haven’t identified…and these damn people in Canberra run around talking about our clean green image,” said Mr Katter.
The Australian Prawn Farmers Association (APFA) President Matt West owns a prawn farm in the Mackay region. In a media report from January this year, Mr West says although his stock are some distance from the Sth East Qld region damaged by the outbreak, the disease can spread rapidly, “especially if it gets hold in the wild”.
NB: Cairns News published an exclusive story on January 10, 2107 about Chinese prawn importer Sino deliberately altering prawn samples for biosecurity testing. The company has been charged by Federal Police for falsifying records allowing white spot infected prawns to be introduced into Queensland. Imported green prawns infected with white spot virus used by anglers for fish bait are thought to have infected seven Gold Coast prawn farms and now Moreton Bay near Brisbane.
Dodgy Chinese importers and free trade set to destroy prawn industry
Delicious, fresh and as yet uncontaminated farmed green prawns from a Queensland prawn farm
The deadly mantra of free trade has threatened the existence of the $358 million Australian prawn industry after white spot disease contaminated prawn farms in the Logan River south of Brisbane.
Imported raw green prawns from Vietnam, Thailand and China where the highly contagious white spot virus is rampant, have wiped out southern farms, forcing the government to place a ban on imports of green prawns.
Infected prawns die quickly and all the Logan River farms have been destocked in the hope of decontaminating the river.
It is thought that green prawns used for fish bait, were the source of contamination.
Although the virus has no effect upon humans, it would have a serious economic impact on the seafood industry in southern Queensland.
Prawn farmers predict the demise of the Australian prawn farming industry due to white spot infected imports from Asia
North Queensland farms have not yet contracted the virus and Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce says the priority was to protect the northern industry which catches 20,000 tonnes of wild prawns and farms another 5200 tonnes worth $86 m annually.
Chinese prawn importer, Sino, had its import licence revoked on Friday and will face serious criminal charges for breaching Australian quarantine laws.
Sino and four other companies allegedly were caught providing samples of non-infected green prawns for biosecurity testing by the Federal Agriculture department when their imported consignments were known to be infected.
Four more foreign importers are in the government sights allegedly for deliberately breaching biosecurity rules.
Other imported products such as cooked, marinated or crumbed prawns do not carry the virus.
Bob Katter
Federal Member for Kennedy, Bob Katter whose electorate has a prawn farm, warned the Federal Government not to allow imports from white spot infected countries.
“All other ‘smart’ countries won’t import seafood from a country that has white spot, Mr Katter remarked.
“But we have some of the lowest quarantine protections in the world.
“Quite frankly I can’t think of anything that has been stopped from coming in.
“Out of probably 100 horticultural applications, all have been agreed too, similarly with seafood.
“Australia has for some time been a net importer of seafood. We pleaded with the authorities to refuse the application to bring in imported prawns. They brought in prawns. Now we have white spot.”
The grocery duopoly, Woolworths and Coles, being the largest retailers of imported prawns, have found themselves smack in the middle of the industry crisis, that Logan River farmers say will eventually kill off all farmed prawns.
The duopoly, best known for not supporting local farmers, enforcing low farm-gate prices and dodgy supply contracts has remained quiet, but should take the blame for the impending destruction of the local prawn industry square on the nose.
The Liberal, National and Labor free trade policies have produced the toxic fruit of Australian primary industries.
Fortunately American President-elect Donald Trump has sounded the death knell for free trade but it will be too late for Australia.
Cairns News 