Media release – Bob Brown Foundation, 22 July 2022
TIME magazine rules out farmed salmon
A culmination of two years of investigation has led TIME magazine to publish a piece ending with the emphatic phrase, “For now, transparency, better regulation, and accurate labels on farmed salmon are essential to ensure good choices for our health and the health of our planet. Until that happens, farmed Atlantic salmon from open-net pens is off our menu and should be off yours.”
Although the story is centred around the US market for salmon, the entire investigative piece is a near word-for-word recital of the very same issues that salmon farming has here in Tasmania.
“The world is waking up when it comes to farmed Atlantic salmon and high-intensity, open-pen fish farming. Farmed salmon all around the globe, just like here in Tasmania, leaves a wake of destruction and pollution behind it,” said Alistair Allan, Bob Brown Foundation Marine campaigner.
“It’s the same story; it’s bad for our health, bad for the world’s fish stocks, bad for the environment and it’s cruel to the salmon themselves.”
“In Tasmania, we know firsthand just how shocking salmon farming can be, with the near complete destruction of the once pristine Macquarie Harbour near Strahan. Now TIME magazine is showing that it’s the same the world over.”
“Argentina has banned open-net salmon farms, like the ones we have here in Tasmania, due to their massive environmental impact. It’s time we followed their lead.”
