Dear Ministry for Primary Industries,

I am writing to request information regarding the "milky white flesh syndrome" affecting fish caught since 2019 in the SNA1 quota management region.

Specifically, I would like to obtain any testing data related to the tissue concentration of heavy metal lead levels in affected fish compared to healthy controls.

Thank you in advance.

Sincerely yours,
Patrick O'Connor

Dear Ministry for Primary Industries

Thank you for your comprehensive response to my query. Unfortunately, there seems to be no information regarding the levels of heavy metal lead in the milky flesh snapper caught after 2019 in the SNA1 catchment region.

The reason for inquiring specifically about lead is because of the recent decommissioning of the Marsden Point Oil Refinery, which has likely generated large quantities of tetraethyl lead contaminated sludge. Such sludge is a known waste residue in tank farms historically used for the storage of leaded fuel. It is not inconceivable that such sludge may have found its way into landfills since 2019, and that TEL contaminated landfill leachate may have found its way into the SNA1 catchment area.

As an organometallic lipid-soluble compound, TEL and its alkylated decomposition products are more dangerous than inorganic lead in terms of bioavailability, CNS-toxicity, and bioaccumulation. It would certainly be in the public interest to know whether heavy metal lead could be responsible for the milky flesh snapper syndrome. I hope that future testing might shed light on this possibility.

Sincerely yours,
Patrick O’Connor