“The Queensland government’s response is a f—ing joke,” – Fishers furious over delayed warning of toxic foam spill
Fishers are furious they weren’t warned for days about a toxic foam spill in Brisbane waters, saying hundreds of kilograms of prawns were caught in the affected area. On the night of Monday, April 10, 22,000 litres of firefighting foam containing potentially harmful chemicals was released from a Brisbane Airport Qantas hangar, with some likely making it into the water in the lower reaches of the Brisbane River and killing about 20 fish. Queensland Environment Minister Steven Miles admitted his department knew of the spill by the following day but did not alert the public until Good Friday, when many people were disengaged with the news. He warned against eating seafood caught in the affected zone – from Bulimba Creek to Fisherman Island and north to Shorncliffe – but said this was outside commercial fishing areas. Trawler Michael Wilkinson said the T5 trawl fishing zone he and more than 30 others were licensed to fish entirely overlapped the affected area. “The Queensland government’s response is a f—ing joke,” he said, saying fishers should have been warned out of the area as soon as the spill occurred. click here to read the story 12:11
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