Salmon farming is the primary threat to the endangered Maugean skate in its only home, Macquarie Harbour, part of Tasmania's Wilderness World Heritage Area.
The latest report from the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies states the population of the skate is still dangerously low, while juveniles are in an even more precarious situation. There is no guarantee these will survive to reproductive maturity.
The government has admitted salmon farming is the primary threat and that the skate remains at high risk of extinction, but is refusing to follow its own advice, which is to "eliminate or significantly reduce" fish farms to avoid the "almost certain" and "catastrophic" impact of this industry.
Meanwhile, the Tasmanian government is currently preparing Terms of Reference for a review of the salmon industry in Tasmania, but there has been no public consultation to date.
"For the Australian government to say the species appears to be recovering is incorrect, and to say that when its own advice says it's not possible to make such conclusions, is misleading." said Eloise Carr, Director of The Australia Institute Tasmania.
"The Australian government is failing to meet its obligations to protect World Heritage.
"The government is ignoring its own department's advice in its attempts to reassure UNESCO that enough is being done to address the destruction of World Heritage caused by the salmon industry. This is simply not the case.
"Any claims that dissolved oxygen is at its 'highest level in more than a decade' is political spin. The harbour has been in its worst ever condition over this period, so it's a low base to measure improvement from. What little improvement exists is not in the skate's preferred habitat.
"The Tasmanian government is now secretly preparing Terms of Reference for a review of the foreign-owned salmon industry in Tasmania. There has been no public consultation on this review to date. It will be critical for research on the environmental impacts of this industry to be undertaken by independent scientists, if more political spin is to be avoided.
"Amongst all this is confirmation that the baby skates that have hatched in captivity are all from eggs fertilised in the wild. The captive adult skates have not produced offspring together. That means, if the skate becomes extinct in the wild, that's it, it's all over.
"The Australia Institute and other civil society organisations will write to UNESCO again, requesting their assistance and alerting them to ongoing threats to World Heritage."
