Boycott vow on plan for salmon industry

COMMUNITY and environmental groups have pledged to boycott the state government’s Draft Tasmanian Salmon Industry Plan, claiming it has ignored their pleas for more sustainable salmon farming.

About 20 protesters representing activist groups from across Tasmania gathered outside the Premier’s office on Thursday morning, demanding a meeting with Jeremy Rockcliff a day before plan submissions closed.

Neighbours of Fish Farming president Peter George branded the draft proposal “a sham”, slamming the Premier for his refusal to meet with community groups. Mr Rockliff was at another appointment in the state’s North.

“We have contributed thousands of hours, as groups and as individuals, to all sorts of consultation processes, only to be denied any input whatsoever, totally ignored and treated with contempt,” Mr George said.

“If he can meet with multinational salmon company executives … the least he can do is give Tasmanians the right to be able to sit down and get the same amount of time and express their concerns.”

Mr Rockcliff questioned the credibility of activist groups and said the government had drafted an “environmentally sustainable” plan for growing Tasmania’s salmon industry.

“To not be part of the consultation process really damages your credibility,” he said.

Tasmanian Conservation Trust chief executive Peter McGlone said several key commitments were missing from the draft plan, including promises to introduce landbased farming and limit the growth of the industry.

“The consultation on the draft plan has failed us entirely. They haven’t listened to our concerns, there’s none of our content from the earlier rounds … it’s missing in the plan,” Mr McGlone said.

“All our supporters are not making submissions.”

Bruny Island’s Killora Community Association spokesman Gerard Castles said the plan has “been wrong from the start”.

“The plan that’s been proposed actually keeps salmon farming in the water, in shallow leases like The Channel, and it’s wrong.”

Bob Brown Foundation fish farm campaigner Alistair Allan said the proposal was an “empty document” which ignored community concerns.

“It’s very clear that communities all around Tasmania have had enough of these industrial salmon companies ruining our beautiful rivers, bays and oceans,” he said.

Greens environment spokeswoman Dr Rosalie Woodruff said Tasmania’s waterways had reached “a perilous point” and called on the government to prioritise transitioning from open net salmon farming “in fragile inshore estuaries and bays”.

“It’s a phony consultation process on a plan that doesn’t propose the change needed to make the industry truly sustainable,” Dr Woodruff said.

Submissions for the draft plan close today.