28 September 2021

Guy Barnett, Minister for Primary Industries and Water

Working together to develop Tasmania's 10-Year Salmon Plan

The Tasmanian Government is developing a new 10-Year Salmon Plan over the next 12 months.  The Plan will be developed based on the principles of:

• There being no net increase in leased farming areas in Tasmanian waters for 12 months;
• Future growth lies in land-based and off-shore salmon farming;
• World’s best practice through continuous improvement; and
• Strict independent regulation.

In developing the 10-Year Salmon Plan, the Government is determined to allow thorough involvement from industry and the community in the process. The draft project outline released today provides for multiple phases of consultation including public meetings and the establishment of a dedicated forum.

Phases of the project will include:

Now until Quarter 2, 2022:

• Pre-consultation with stakeholders, including but not limited to scientific institutions, NGOs, community groups, farmers, industry supply chain members, peak bodies and different levels of government; and
• Based on pre-consultation, confirmation of timeframes and establishment of a dedicated “Salmon 2023 Forum” with broad representation from the groups identified above.

Quarter 2 and Quarter 3, 2022:

• Development of an issues paper;
• Public consultation on the issues paper including first Salmon 2023 Forum, regional public meetings and submission process via dedicated DPIPWE website;
• Release of Draft 10-Year Salmon Plan; and
• Consultation on Draft 10-Year Salmon Plan including second Salmon 2023 Forum, regional public meetings and submission process via dedicated DPIPWE website.

Quarter 4, 2022:

• Final 10-year Salmon Plan released.

1 January, 2023:

• 10-year Salmon Plan commences.

The Government is today also releasing the Second Progress Report on the 2017 Sustainable Industry Growth Plan.

This final progress report provides an update on the actions underway since the first report was released in 2017, and demonstrates the journey of continuous improvement.

Key achievements to date include:

• Transferring responsibility for the environmental regulation of the industry to the independent Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and the requirement for new environmental licences, along with environmental monitoring;
• A zero-tolerance policy on marine farming debris;
• Greater transparency through publishing environmental, fish health and other industry data on the Salmon Portal, as well as benchmarking the Tasmanian industry through the Tasmanian Salmon Industry Environmental Scorecard; and
• Significant investments by Government and industry into science and research and development.

The Progress Report can be accessed at https://dpipwe.tas.gov.au/sea-fishing-aquaculture/marine-farming-aquaculture/salmon-farming/salmon-industry-growth-plan

More Media Releases from Guy Barnett

More Media Releases from the Minister for Primary Industries and Water