Legal challenges and protests are expected to follow federal government approval yesterday of a $30 million salmon farm on Tasmania’s east coast.
The Environment and Energy Department approved Tassal Group’s plan to farm 800,000 salmon in 28 pens in Okehampton Bay, near Maria Island, without requiring a full environmental impact assessment.
However, the department imposed conditions aimed at protecting southern right whales, including requiring all boats to use navigational sonar.
“The decision is supported by independent environmental advice and follows … public consultation,” said Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg.
Environment Tasmania was consulting its lawyers and a legal challenge is thought likely, potentially including an injunction to prevent Tassal’s moves to begin placing fish in the water.
Entrepreneur Graeme Wood and former Greens leader Bob Brown are among those who made submissions against Tassal’s plans, arguing the company’s federal referral document was deeply flawed.
Tassal yesterday sought to placate opponents, offering to take them on a tour of the site and highlighting its joint ventures to grow native seaweed and to harvest and farm a pest sea urchin, as well as mussels, under an “eco-aquaculture” trial.
“Seaweed can both absorb excess nutrients and create a valuable co-product (for human food and nutraceuticals),” said Tassal senior manager Barbara McGregor.
Environment Tasmania strategy director Laura Kelly said the trials would not come close to addressing concerns about the waste from the 800,000 salmon. “The tiny amount (of seaweed) they have there will be as useless as tits on a bull when it comes to 920 tonnes of (fish) faeces a year,” she said.
She said the federal government appeared to have ignored expert advice that the bay was ideal calving habitat for the endangered southern right whale and that fish farming posed threats to the species, such as from net entanglement and noise pollution. “We will be reviewing their decision closely, with the assistance of our lawyers,” she said.
Tassal denies there is likely to be any significant impacts on threatened species, and business partner Spring Bay Seafoods said while whales were seen in nearby Mercury Passage it had not spotted them in Okehampton Bay.
The issue is likely to factor at the coming state election, with recent ReachTEL polling by Hobart’s The Mercury showing 51 per cent of the local Lyons electorate oppose fish farming at Okehampton, and that the Greens are on track to win a seat.
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