Media release – Jo Palmer, Minister for Primary Industries and Water, 23 November 2022
Draft Salmon Plan released for consultation
Tasmania’s salmon industry continues to be one of the state’s success stories and the Tasmanian Liberal Government is a proud supporter of it.
Today, the Draft Tasmanian Salmon Industry Plan 2023 has been released for public consultation.
The final Plan will be an enduring long-term plan that will provide strategic direction and certainty for industry and community into the future.
Its implementation will support sustainable growth, improve transparency, ensure ongoing accountability and foster effective stakeholder engagement.
Extensive feedback received during the Towards a 10-Year Salmon Plan Discussion Paper has informed the Draft Plan.
Community briefing sessions will be held around the State to provide information on the Draft Plan.
Feedback on the Draft Plan can also be provided via web-based submission and will be considered in the finalisation of the Plan.
Public consultation on the Draft Plan closes at 11.59pm on 20 January.
For more information, visit: www.nre.tas.gov.au/salmonplan.
Media release – NOFF, Tasmanian Alliance for Marine Protection, Killora Community Association, 23 November 2022
Initial response to the Tasmanian 10-year Atlantic salmon plan released today
The state government’s ten-year Atlantic salmon plan marks a complete capitulation by the Rockliff government to the foreign-owned industry giving it what it wants, where it wants.
The plan amounts to a free gift to the salmon barons – more public waterways further offshore while maintaining everything they have been gifted in coastal, shallow waters.
Tasmanians should be very worried that the Rockliff government has handed the future of the state’s waterways to multinationals that have criminal records and histories of environmental violations – exactly as predicted and revealed after promises the Premier made to the industry at a private Liberal Party fund-raising dinner.
Released today, it totally fails to address the most pressing issue in the industry’s operations: moving open-net feedlots out of protected, shallow and vulnerable waterways.
It also fails to incentivise the most important move the industry could make to protect Tasmania’s marine life and coastal communities – moving the industry into land-based production as is evolving globally.
There is no relief on offer to communities in the Huon Valley and estuary, nor in the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, the Tasman Peninsula, Tamar River while the threat of salmon feedlots invading Bass Strait remains.
The government’s plan fails to address these crucial issues and instead offers anodyne reassurances of increased regulation and enforcement.
Surprisingly short on detail, the plan’s stated priorities are misleadingly worthy and ring hollow – Sustainable Industry, Healthy Ecosystems, Prosperous Communities and contemporary Governance. There is nothing sustainable about this industry which destroys ecosystems – and nothing that recognises sustainable land-based salmon production will protect and increase employment.
Killora Community Association spokesperson, Gerard Castles, says there is nothing in the plan to reassure Bruny Island residents or to dissuade them from actions planned next year to demonstrate community outrage.
George and Castles say the community campaign to rid Tasmanian waters of polluting salmon feedlots will step up over the next few months.
Media release – Bob Brown Foundation, 23 November 2022
Government’s draft salmon plan condemns Tasmanian waterways to more destruction
Today’s release of the Draft Tasmanian Salmon Industry Plan falls woefully short of providing any meaningful change to the toxic salmon industry.
“This draft is 18 pages of ‘nothing is going to fundamentally change’ assurance to the salmon industry,” said Alistair Allan, Bob Brown Foundation Fish Farm campaigner.
“The whole plan can be read as this: The goal of a ‘sustainable industry’ is for it to be economically sustainable. Don’t worry about the environment.”
“When the top recommendation for the small and woeful environmental section is to have an ‘environmental standard’, something which the government and industry have time and time again said they have already, then this plan isn’t worth the paper it is written on.”
“The draft plan feels like it purposefully ignores the cacophony of concerns from the community about the damage these industrial fish farms are doing to our unique marine environment and instead is all about ensuring expansion and growth of the industry.”
“Where is the plan to protect the critically endangered Red Handfish? Where is the plan to get fish farms out of Macquarie Harbour and protect the Maugean Skate? Both these incredible animals were listed as priority species by the Federal Government but obviously, they mean nothing to the Tasmanian government.”
Media release – Janie Finlay MP, Shadow Minister for Primary Industries and Water, 23 November 2022
Minister misses opportunity to provide ambitious oceans plan
The Draft Tasmanian Salmon Industry Plan released in Parliament today, appears on first reading to have failed Tasmanians.
The Minister for Primary Industries and Water was in a position to boldly lead the nation when it comes to aquaculture and our ocean economy, yet much of this draft plan is focused on managing past negativity.
The plan does little to recognise and realise the full potential of Tasmania’s oceans and our potential opportunity to sustainably feed Australia and the world.
Being an ‘industry’ plan is the first misstep – this could have been a plan for all who participate in our ocean economy – not just industry.
It is also concerning that the government has released a work plan before the consultation process has even finished. Have they already deemed the feedback irrelevant?
The government has given Tasmanians more of the same ‘tell not consult’ rather than provided a contemporary outlook.
This plan could have delivered Tasmanians an ambitious way forward and provided an invitation to positively participate in our ocean economy.
Instead, the government has placed its priority on regulation rather than having an eye to the future and identifying pathways to support new innovations that showcase our skills and talents and build trust and confidence.
The Tasmanian aquaculture industry is looking for increased certainty from the Liberal Government and confidence that the state is again open for investment.
I encourage Tasmanians and industry to provide their clear feedback to the draft plan and look forward to the government lifting their sights and considering the full potential of our ocean economy.
Media release – Environment Tasmania, 23 November 2022
SALMON EXPANSIONS GREEN-LIGHTED IN DRAFT TASMANIAN SALMON INDUSTRY PLAN
The release of the state government’s Tasmanian Salmon Industry Plan today signals an enthusiastic green light for expansions into both state and commonwealth waters.
“The Draft Salmon Plan released today outlines just how far the Tasmanian government is willing to bend over backwards to allow the now multi-national owned salmon companies expand and increase their profits at the expense of the Tasmanian community and pristine public waters.” says Rebecca Howarth, Marine Campaigner at Environment Tasmania.
“Not only are offshore Commonwealth Waters up for grabs but State waters too. This is particularly shocking as not long ago the government was keen to reassure the public that the industry would expand no further in state waters. It seems the Tasmanian public have had the wool pulled over their eyes. Expansion by any means possible seems to be the remit, even swapping out zombie leases for new areas of coast.”
“Community consultation has been replaced with “outreach” that aims to understand community attitudes. This sounds like an exercise in ‘figuring out how to silence the public’ rather than actually a genuine consultation of the communities who have connections to Tasmania’s coasts. The consultation period is ridiculously short and spanning the Christmas holiday period. We urge the government to extend this period by at least 6 weeks to allow time for thorough engagement of a wide cross-section of the community to be carried out.”
“There is no mention of when pens will be removed from inshore fish farms that are “sensitive, sheltered and biodiverse areas”.as per Recommendation 3 on the government’s own Fin-Fish Inquiry report.”
Media release – NWTAS for Clean Oceans, 23 November 2022
BUSINESS AS USUAL – FINFISH INDUSTRY WILL CONTINUE TO DICTATE THE FUTURE FOR TASMANIAN
“The state government’s Draft Tasmanian Salmon Industry Plan released today gives Tasmania’s totally foreign-owned finfish industry what it wants and where it wants it, for at least 10 years,” said Robyn Weare, Spokesperson, NWTAS for Clean Oceans.”
“The Plan amounts to another gift to the three industrial salmon farmers – the Plan promises more public waterways to them “offshore” whilst allowing them to keep the many sites they already have in coastal, shallow waters around the state”.
“The Plan suggests that marine spacial planning outcomes will inform government decisions about exactly where new open net salmon farms will be located. In December 2021, IMAS completed a Statewide Finfish Aquaculture Spacial Planning Exercise commissioned by the government. The IMAS report included maps which clearly show where our north west and southern coastal waters have been categorised as biophysically suitable for industrial finfish farming”.
“On the north-west coast these areas include coastal waters adjacent to King Island, Boat Harbour Beach, Port Sorell, Burnie, Penguin, Rocky Cape, Table Cape and Sisters Beach”.
Robyn said: “The north-west coast is clearly now “open for business” and it won’t be too long before the industry will be lodging proposals for industrial finfish farming on our coast”.
“Tasmanians should be very worried that the Rockliff government has handed the future of the state’s waterways to three multinational companies, two of which (JBS and Cooke) have criminal records and histories of environmental violations.”
“The Plan totally fails to address the most pressing issue in the industry’s current operations – moving open-net feedlots out of protected, shallow and vulnerable waterways. It also fails to incentivise the most important move the industry could make to protect Tasmania’s marine life and coastal communities – moving the industry into land-based production, the preferred method evolving globally”.
“There is no relief on offer to communities in the Huon Valley and estuary, nor in the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, the Tasman Peninsula, Tamar River and Macquarie Harbour and Okehampton Bay while the threat of salmon feedlots invading Bass Strait remains.”
“The various community campaigns across the state to rid Tasmanian coastal waters of polluting salmon feedlots and start the planning process to transition the industry to land, will step up over the next few months.”
