It was extremely heartening to attend today’s rally and see the strong support for Tasmania’s world class salmon industry.
The salmon farming industry directly and indirectly support more than 5200 jobs in Tasmania and interstate with many of these jobs in regional areas like the West Coast, Huon and Channel region, Tasman Peninsula, Tamar Estuary, North-West Coast and Northern Midlands.
These are real people and real families employed in a sustainable industry that optimises our clean and natural Tasmanian Brand and is our most valuable interstate food trade item estimated at more than $700 million.
The Hodgman Liberal Government is a strong supporter of the salmon industry. We want to support the industry to continue to grow and create more jobs, particularly in regional Tasmania where it is a key employer.
We also know that a key part of this growth is ensuring that the industry continues to be appropriately regulated and its operations retain the confidence of the community.
This is why we made the independent Environment Protection Authority (EPA) responsible for the day-to-day environmental management of the salmon industry. This includes, based on environmental monitoring and targeted research, determining the amount of salmon biomass permissible in any Marine Farm Plan area.
Additionally, the penalty regime for breaches of the Marine Farming Planning Act 1995 has been modernised to better reflect the scale of the industry, with increased fines and the potential to see a marine farming licence revoked.
Tasmanians can be assured that we will continue to work with the industry and regional communities to ensure the salmon industry remains something that every Tasmanian can be proud of and which continues to be a world-class sustainable asset.
More Media Releases from Jeremy Rockliff
More Media Releases from the Minister for Primary Industries and Water