Tasmania boasts some of the most pristine and awe-inspiring coastlines in the world. These breathtaking landscapes not only draw visitors from far and wide but also define the essence of brand Tasmania.

So why would we jeopardise this asset by allowing foreign-owned, mass-producing, mass polluting salmon farms in our waters?

This question was considered by a Tasmanian parliamentary committee inquiring into the local salmon farming industry in 2022. The committee, in its final report, highlighted the widespread public concern over insufficient returns to the Government and the community from the industry, and urged the Government to act to ensure appropriate returns. It also emphasised that:

“social, cultural, recreational, and natural values must be at the heart of planning, regulation, promotion, and growth of the industry in this state if it is to earn … social licence”.

The report made several recommendations, including a comprehensive review of the legislation governing marine environments and fish farm approvals to ensure more stringent environmental standards and transparency in the regulation of the industry. Three years on, there is still no sign of this legislative review or any financial returns to Tasmanians, and the improved environmental standards and monitoring haven’t materialised.

What about the environmental cost? Anyone who is concerned about our marine environment and our rivers should read Richard Flanagan’s book Toxic or speak to someone who lives on the Tasmania Peninsula or D’Entrecasteaux channel. Ask them about the algal blooms, marine debris, noise and light pollution from this industry, or the decimation of the local fish and marine bird populations, or the seals who, last year, had 3000 explosives launched at them for daring to go near the fish pens.

I’m sure you’ve heard how the salmon pens in Macquarie Harbour have depleted the oxygen levels in the water and pushed the Maugean skate to the brink of extinction. Maybe you’ve heard, or seen, the recent algal and moon jellyfish blooms in south eastern Tasmania and heard Dr Lisa Gershwin explain how this is caused, at least in part, by the excessive nutrients pumped into the ocean by the salmon hatcheries and pens.

Maybe you remember the algal bloom last year in Lake Trevallyn, Launceston’s drinking water source, which is downstream of a salmon hatchery on the South Esk. Or you’ve heard of the huge number of salmon dying in these pens and being dumped in our local tips.

It shouldn’t just be environmentalists concerned about the salmon farms. Taxpayers should be equally alarmed by the financial cost of sustaining the industry, which gives little in return, particularly in Macquarie Harbour.

In November, the Federal Labor Government pledged a $28 million ‘investment’ to ‘improve water quality’ in the harbour (on top of the $7 million announced last year for the same reason). In other words, they want taxpayers to fix the environmental mess caused by these multinational salmon companies in Macquarie Harbour, not the companies themselves.

So what do Tasmanians get in return for granting these companies privileged access to profit from and pollute our waterways?

Research conducted by The Australia Institute in 2023 revealed that Tasmania’s billion-dollar salmon industry has paid no company tax over the previous three years. In contrast, Norway, the world’s largest salmon producer, has now imposed a 25% levy on the salmon companies, in addition to the 22% company tax rate. Despite the industry’s doomsday warnings, the sector has not collapsed, and the Norwegian people now receive some of the profits from the industry.

Here in Tasmania, the State Government promised back in early 2023 to ensure ‘an appropriate return to the Tasmanian community’ from salmon farming. But when it released its long-awaited 10-year Salmon Industry Plan later that year it backflipped and declared there would be no new taxes on the industry. If we had the courage of Norway, we could be raising hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue to spend on our underfunded and neglected hospitals and schools.

Salmon industry ‘champions’ invariably cite job creation as the key benefit of the industry. However, the actual number of jobs remains the subject of considerable debate and opacity. Recently, the spotlight has been on employment generated by the salmon farms in Macquarie Harbour, which is meant to serve as a justification for the looming extinction of the Maugean skate.

In 2024, the industry claimed it provided 120 full-time jobs on Macquarie Harbour, with 60 employees coming from other parts of Tasmania, and 60 living on the west coast. It also claimed it supported 280 additional jobs in processing, administration, manufacturing, and logistics. These figures are not publicly available and can’t be verified. Remember, this is an industry that doesn’t appreciate public scrutiny and is far from transparent about its operations.

In 2023, The Australian Institute estimated salmon farming accounted for just 2.5% of all employment on the west coast—between 54 and 76 direct jobs. In my discussions with salmon farm workers in Macquarie Harbour, I was told the industry is increasingly relying on foreign workers to fill some of these jobs.  So, wouldn’t the $30 odd million pledged by the Federal Government to save the skate be better spent to transition the small number of west coast workers, and their families, to sustainable employment in the region?

The answer depends on who the Government is trying to protect- the workers, their employers or the environment? The Government says it wants to protect all three, but the shameful avoidance of a final decision by the Federal Environment Minister on whether to allow the industry to continue its environmental degradation of the harbour doesn’t help the workers and their family, or the environment. It only helps the industry.

Now the salmon industry is coming for our waters in Bass Strait.

The Blue CRC Economy is trialling salmon pens 12km off Burnie, conveniently just outside our state waters. The industry also wants to harvest huge amounts of our wild sardines. Sardines form a key part of the food chain for our thriving wild fishery in Bass Strait, but the salmon industry wants to turn them into fish meal to fatten up its salmon.

I’m so concerned about this that I’m holding a community meeting in Burnie on Sunday 16 February to discuss the proposed salmon farm trial, expansion and sardine harvesting in Bass Strait. I’ve invited a diverse group of speakers, including fishermen, scientists and conservationists. I urge all who care about our Bass Strait waters to come along and keep informed about these issues. I’ll also stream the event live on my Facebook page.

Craig Garland is an independent Member of the House of Assembly representing Braddon.