Petuna’s $70m Storm Bay bid

OFFSHORE FISH FARM

PETUNA Aquaculture has unveiled plans for a $70 million salmon farming expansion into Storm Bay — marking the 61-year-old company’s first push into the South of the state.

The company hopes the site, about 5km southeast of Betsey Island and 6km from the nearest shoreline, will eventually increase Petuna’s production capacity by between 50 and 60 per cent.

Petuna acting chief executive David Wood said the release of plans for public consultation was a milestone.

The company has consulted with stakeholders including commercial and recreational fishing organisations, dive groups and yacht clubs.

“It’s been a lot of work to get to this stage, it’s good that it’s out there for public consultation and we look forward to the feedback that comes in,” Mr Wood said.

“The ability to seek some new water space in the southeast is significant.”

Tassal and Huon Aquaculture have plans for similar expansions into Storm Bay, but Petuna believes its site will be the furthest offshore.

Combined, the companies are aspiring to produce 80,000 tonnes of salmon annually from the Storm Bay region — more than six times the biomass limit of Macquarie Harbour on the West Coast.

However, the initial limit will be half that.

Mr Wood said the expansion would also help Petuna reach new customers in Australia and overseas as Tasmania’s salmon industry worked towards a $1 billion revenue target by 2030.

The expansion is expected to create 37 direct and 130 indirect jobs, with Petuna planning to establish a shore base at Electrona.

The company says it expects to bring in $950 million in revenue from the site in the first 10 years of operations, with about $500 million to be spent on wages and Tasmanian goods and services.

The Storm Bay site is in water between 35 and 39 metres deep, with waves observed at up to 4.9 metres.

“It certainly meets any criteria you would like to define for high-energy and offshore farming,” Mr Wood said.

“It’s different to what we’ve farmed anywhere else, and we recognise the challenges in doing that.”

Petuna was established in northern Tasmania by Peter and Una Rockliff in 1949 and began farming salmon in the 1990s. New Zealand company Sealord partnered with the Rockliff family in 2010.

Representations on the draft Storm Bay North marine farming development plan must be lodged by February 9.