Peter George, independent candidate for Franklin, 24 March 2025

Polished ads attack salmon industry pollution

A series of highly polished and professional ‘advertisements’ excoriating the pollution of beaches and waterways by industrial salmon producers in Tasmania has been released globally.

In a style reminiscent of typical government tourism advertisements, the series has been produced by volunteers who live around foreshores where rotting salmon fat and carcasses have washed up over recent weeks.

Stylised, short and impactful, the seven videos are mostly less than 30 seconds and highly produced to a standard of any commercial advertisement.

Released in the lead up to the federal elections to be held before May 17 and as Labor and Liberal plan to exempt the salmon industry from environmental laws in Macquarie Harbour, each ad calls on viewers to ‘Vote Salmon Out’

Peter George, former president of Neighbours of Fish Farming and candidate for the federal seat of Franklin says:

“These advertisements have been turned out in an incredibly short space of time by angered residents who’ve seen their beaches and waterways despoiled by the industry.

“They are a blow to the heart of a salmon industry that claims to be sustainable and to care about the communities in which it operates.

“With millions of salmon dying from disease in the southeast of the state, with rotting flesh and fat washing up on beaches the industry’s crisis is at a turning point where overwhelming anger and rejection means its social licence to operate in Tasmanian waters will never be recovered.”

The videos have been shared worldwide through 110 members of Global Salmon Farming Resistance.

A note released by the volunteer filmmakers and actors says:

We are a group of concerned local community members who have come together to make our voices heard on the issue of salmon farming in southern Tasmania.

We are a group of fully independent creatives without any collective allegiance to other movements, organisations or political parties.

We are fully self-funded and self-directed.

We are doing this because we are passionate about preserving our precious environment, and because we are fed up with the inaction of politically-appointed organisations who we had naively trusted to keep us and our wildlife safe from harm.

Our aim is to promote public awareness that will lead to legislative change to stop fish farming in our waterways. 

Media release – Bob Brown Foundation, 24 March 2025

Documents raise questions about timing of Tasmanian Government’s revocation of salmon disease as prohibited matter

Documents show that the disease vector that is currently causing the deaths of millions of farmed salmon, Piscirickettsia salmonis, was removed from Tasmania’s prohibited animal disease list on 16 January 2025.

Bob Brown Foundation first filmed large numbers of dead fish in pens on 14 February, after hearing reports that a mass death had been occurring for at least a week.

Bob Brown Foundation is demanding assurance from the Chief Veterinary Officer and Tasmanian Government, that they had no contact with any of the three salmon companies about the delisting of this disease prior to, or after, its outbreak. The Chief Veterinary Officer should explain why he delisted the disease vector.

“The removal of this disease from a prohibited list by the Chief Veterinary Officer and the Tasmanian Government, just weeks before an outbreak of that very disease, is extraordinary,” said Alistair Allan, Antarctic and Marine campaigner at Bob Brown Foundation.

“The Tasmanian Government has a proven track record of running cover for the toxic industrial fish farms in our waters.”

“There must be a full, independent inquiry into this catastrophic disease outbreak, including a full explanation of the Chief Veterinary Officer’s decision to delist this disease and the timing of that move.”

Link to the document (pg 49) : https://www.gazette.tas.gov.au/editions/2025/january-2025/22458_-_29_January_2025.pdf .