Premier fillets salmon

Premier Jeremy Rockliff has announced a major review into Tasmania's salmon industry.

The move, which includes a freeze on industry expansion, comes just 48 hours before a crucial vote of No Confidence in the Parliament, and seems to directly address concerns about the salmon industry raised by independents including Peter George.

"The Tasmanian Government will launch an independent study of the salmon industry to ensure its long-term sustainability and environmental efficacy", Premier Jeremy Rockliff said.

“To support the salmon industry to meet its social licence in line with contemporary environmental expectations, we will deliver an independent study of the industry.

“I said clearly, after the mass mortality event of last summer, the industry is on notice.

“I do not resile from that; we must always seek to strike a balance between sustainable primary industries and our unique natural environments in which they operate.

“We are on the side of Tasmanians. We know how important transparency is to the industry, so we expect them to fully participate in the study.

The Premier said that the terms of reference will be created in collaboration with the Parliament; however, would likely include:

•⁠  ⁠existing and proposed monitoring, regulation, environmental standards, compliance and penalties, and legislation, and whether they need to be strengthened or changed;

•⁠  ⁠disease and antibiotic use, scientific research and environmental impacts;

•⁠  ⁠international research into methods of fish-farming, including land-based and offshore;

•⁠  ⁠capturing the true impacts of the industry on public waterways, the environment and infrastructure, to ensure that all costs to the government are recovered through the cost recovery model;

and
•⁠  ⁠the scientific, economic and environmental benefits and impacts of the industry for our marine environment, communities, jobs and economy, drawing on local and international experience.

Environment Minister, Madeleine Ogilvie, said that the Government will also develop and deliver a Marine Environment Tasmania Act, in consultation with the parliament and the community, and we will further strengthen regulatory oversight.

The independent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), established by the Liberal Government in 2021, will be further strengthened.

This will include:

•⁠  ⁠monitoring requirements of industry (including benthic health);

•⁠  ⁠antibiotic use;

•⁠  ⁠illness and mortalities (including marine and bird life interactions); and

•⁠  ⁠with full public reporting on matters of public interest.

"Our waste management sector will also be tasked with ensuring management of aquaculture industry waste meets contemporary standards and community expectations," Ms Ogilvie concluded.

Salmon is Tasmania's biggest primary industry, worth over $1 billion annually and according to the industry employs over 5,000 people.

It was announced on Friday that the industry was seeking to fast-track a new vaccine to address an endemic bacteria - Piscirickettsia salmonis - that was responsible for a fish mortality event that occurred over the summer, during which chunks of dead salmon washed up on beaches in southern Tasmania.