Tassal rejects Lambie attack

SALMON farmer Tassal has offered Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie a tour of its operations and a “comprehensive briefing” after the Senator accused the company of not playing by the rules.

“I think there’s one lot of people in the industry that probably need a boot up their rear-end and that’s Tassal,” Senator Lambie told local radio yesterday.

“Tassal is ruining it for the rest of us. I am concerned about the environmental impact that it’s having.

“If Tassal keeps overloading what they’re doing and is not going to play by the rules and regulations because they’re all about the money instead of about the product coming out of Tasmania, then we’re going to be in trouble.”

Tassal’s corporate engage- ment senior manager Barbara McGregor said Senator Lambie’s comments were disappointing.

“After spending time at a forum in Macquarie Harbour this week, we feel it is not a view shared by the community who are supportive of our operations and commitment to improve,” Ms McGregor said.

“We received lots of feedback from our workers in regional Tasmania and community members who felt they were unjustly attacked through these unsubstantiated comments.”

Ms McGregor said the company had offered Senator Lambie a tour of its operations and “a comprehensive briefing session from our technical, science and operations teams”.

“Ensuring people have access to simple facts of complex matters has been a challenge,’’ she said.

“We are, however, committed to making information and data more accessible.”

Ms McGregor said Tassal had always striven to improve and was 96 per cent compliant with state regulation across 18 leases.

A spokeswoman for Senator Lambie said the senator was “looking forward to receiving a formal invitation from Tassal to tour Macquarie Harbour”.

Meanwhile, top Tasmanian chefs opting to leave salmon off the menu over concerns about industry transparency and sustainability have rejected claims they are boycotting the state’s salmon industry.

“As chefs, firstly what we want is to be able to use that product [Tasmanian salmon] in the future,” former Mona The Source executive chef Philippe Leban, of A Tiny Place, said.

“What do you do — do you sit back and just let it happen, or do you do something about it?”

Mr Leban, Aloft owner Christian Ryan and Fat Pig Farm’s Matthew Evans are among chefs who have signed Environment Tasmania’s Sustainable Salmon Chefs’ Charter. The charter calls for more transparency and less environmental impact from the salmon industry.

Mr Leban and Mr Ryan do not have salmon on the menu at their restaurants but not all of the chefs who have signed the charter have stopped using the fish.

The three chefs were disappointed by Primary Industries Minister Jeremy Rockliff’s claims they were boycotting Tasmanian salmon and it “could cause significant damage to the salmon industry”.

“Damage to the industry is starting all gung-ho now and then not being able to do it [farm salmon] in the future,” Mr Ryan said.

Mr Evans said Mr Rockliff was engaging in divisive politics.

“Nobody’s being anti-salmon. That is such an appallingly negative way to look at it. What it is is a positive thing saying we want salmon into the future,” he said.

Senator Lambie urged chefs to keep using local salmon.

“Our salmon will be fine if Tassal starts to play the game,” she said.