Brown slams fish farm review

Greens Leader Bob Brown, along with local residents and organisations, has made a submission to the Marine Planning Panel’s review of Tassal’s request to expand its Soldiers Point salmon farm, which held a public hearing in Hobart today (Monday).

“Many of these submissions expressed serious concerns about antibiotic use, damage to the marine environment, sustainability and noise. However, the panel’s written response to these submissions had too little scientific basis and too much unsubstantiated opinion,” Senator Brown said.

“There are inadequate baseline studies of the marine environment where these farms are located and no assessment of the farms’ impact on the wider ecosystem.

“Further expansions of fish farming operations should depend on a better understanding of how they affect their surrounding environment and whether current regulation of their activities is adequate – for example, the impact of poisonous anti-fouling agents on nearby natural ecosystems.

“Tassal faces a takeover by an overseas buyer. There is no rush for this expansion to go through unless and until its impact on other Tasmanians who enjoy the natural beauty of the D’Entrecasteaux Channel is adequately understood,” Senator Brown said.