COMMUNITY DEMANDS SALMON FARMS REMOVED FROM LONG BAY
Tasmanian Times
16 November 2023
Eaglehawk Neck town hall packed to the rafters – meeting calls for industrial salmon farms to be removed from Long Bay
A town hall meeting in Eaglehawk Neck on the Tasman Peninsula has unequivocally called for the industrial fish farms in Long Bay to be removed forever from the water.
The meeting was standing room only with the Eaglehawk Neck community hall completely full.
Speakers included Louise Cherrie, former member of the Marine Review Board, John Stanfield who runs the popular recreational fishers Facebook page and deputy chair of the TARFish board, Tasmanian independent science council expert Christine Coughanowr as well as residents.
PUBLIC MEETING - GIVE BACK LONG BAY
Media Release
14 November 2023
Tasman Peninsula Marine Protection will hold a public meeting this Sunday, November 16 at the Eaglehawk Neck Hall: 2-3.30pm. TPMP have once again requested that the Environmental Licence, #55 permitting Tassal to operate its FinFish lease at Long Bay, Port Arthur is NOT renewed. Tasman Peninsula residents in particular are urged to attend this informative meeting.
TPMP sent a letter to the EPA Director on 6 October 2025 requesting the licence be revoked, outlining that “the legislative power exists to cease salmon farming at Long Bay”. The EPA have not replied to our letter.
The Legislative Council Inquiry into Finfish Farming found “priority be given to ceasing operations in sensitive, sheltered and biodiverse areas.” (Recommendation 3 – May 2022). Lease #55 in Long Bay clearly fits these criteria.
CALLS TO END SALMON FARMING AT LONG BAY AMID WATER POLLUTION AND ALGAL BLOOM FEARS
The Mercury - Amber Wilson
21 July 2023
A group of scientists has called for salmon farms to be removed from Long Bay, near Port Arthur – claiming the shallow, sheltered area is being seriously damaged.
The Tasmanian Independent Science Council (TISC), which was formed in 2020 with a focus on environmental science, has produced a report on the health of the bay, which it says is being impacted by water pollution, algal blooms, and damage to nearby reef and seagrass habitats.
The TISC said salmon waste was responsible for more than 90 per cent of excess nutrients discharged into Long Bay, which it said was “the equivalent of sewage discharged by at least 25,000 people”.
But the salmon industry defended the Long Bay operations, and described the sewage claim as “pure sensationalism”.
SCIENCE COUNCIL: END SALMON FARMING IN LONG BAY
Tasmanian Times
21 July 2023
Media release – Tasmanian Independent Science Council (TISC), 21 July 2023
Time to end salmon farming in Long Bay: Scientists say
Independent scientists are calling for salmon farms to be removed from Long Bay, near Port Arthur on the Turrukana/Tasman Peninsula when the current lease expires on 30 November 2023.
A report from the Tasmanian Independent Science Council (TISC) has found that the shallow, sheltered Long Bay lease is not suitable for open pen salmon farming. The report shows that the salmon farm has been a major contributor to water pollution, persistent nuisance algal blooms and damage to nearby reef and seagrass habitats.
PROTESTS CONTINUE TO BLOCK TASSAL SHIP
Bob Brown Foundation
24 August 2022
EPA’s damning scientific report on the water quality in Long Bay, Port Arthur fuels calls for salmon pens to Leave Long Bay
Today, Bob Brown Foundation activists again halted the Tassal ship Aqua Spa from pumping salmon into 16 pens in Long Bay near Port Arthur. The BBF boat travelled out to the heads of Long Bay and asked the Aqua Spa to stop, which it did until Tasmania Police escorted the salmon factory vessel into the bay.
The factory salmon vessel intends to return every day this week to fill all 16 pens with thousands and thousands of salmon, despite repeated community calls to not return salmon to Long Bay.
“Today we have returned to stop more salmon from being pumped into Long Bay. We are here because the toxic salmon industry refuses to listen.”
ANTI-SALMON ACTIVISTS BLOCK TASSAL VESSEL IN LONG BAY
Salmon Business
23 August 2022
Dr WOODRUFF (Franklin) – Mr Speaker, I thank the Bob Brown Foundation and the community around Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula for their peaceful protest this morning. It started at 6 a.m. with three vessels blocking access to the Tassal lease by the Aqua Spa, soon to be owned by Cooke Canada. The mood among the community and the people on the vessels was very relaxed, calm, amicable and positive. The local community there have been trying for years to get Tassal – now Cook Canada – to do better and they have been utterly ignored and pushed away.
Residents have spent months of their lives negotiating and consulting in good faith with Tassal about the conditions in that lease. They have spoken out about the green slime. They have spoken out about the brown snot, and, they have just been given a hand by Tassal –
AUSTRALIAN SALMON FARMER TASSAL BLAMED FOR ‘NUISANCE’ ALGAL BLOOMS
IntraFish
11 August 2022
Tasmania's Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is considering its next steps in addressing findings in a report released earlier this year suggesting that salmon farming in the Long Bay area of Port Arthur is contributing to an increase in algal blooms in the region.
Australian shrimp and salmon farmer Tassal operates salmon farm in the region. Activist groups in the area are calling for the relocation of the farms in order to protect the region's environment.
“Port Arthur is not a suitable site for salmon farms. You cannot cherry pick around the results. There is enough evidence to say it is time for Tassal to exit Long Bay,” said Sheenagh Neill of the activist group Tasmanian Alliance for Marine Protection.
CALL FOR REMOVAL OF TASSAL FARM INTENSIFIES AFTER STUDY LINKS IT TO ALGAL BLOOMS
Salmon Business
10 August 2022
The campaign to remove Tassal’s salmon pens in Long Bay, Port Arthur in Tasmania, Australia has intensified after a study linked the salmon lease to harmful algal blooms.
Locals started becoming concerned about the deterioration in water quality in Long Bay after Tassal began stocking the lease in 2017.
Tasmania’s Environment Protection Authority has been monitoring water quality in the Port Arthur area since December 2019. “Nitrogen isotope data demonstrates that the farm is a nutrient source for macro algae communities at the sites directly adjacent to the lease,” concluded the newly released report.
LONG BAY SALMON FARMING CASUING NUTRIENT ENRICHMENT ON REEF: REPORT
The Mercury - Alex Treacy and Kenji Sato
9 August 2023
A NEW scientific report examining waters off Port Arthur which have been leased by Tassal for salmon farming since 2017 has confirmed the fish pens are “a source of nutrients for the adjacent reef ecosystem”, leading to elevated levels of kelp-smothering algae.
The February ‘Rapid visual assessment of rocky reef assemblages in Port Arthur’ study was written and released by the University of Tasmania’s Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies.
Its contents should set off “alarm bells” for the state government, said Trish Baily, a spokeswoman for green group Tasman Peninsula Marine Protection (TPMP), which has been campaigning for the removal of Tassal’s 16 pens in Long Bay.
SCIENTIC REPORT ON SALMON FARM IMPACT REIGNITES CONCERNS
ABC Listen
8 August 2022
In the coastal waters neighbouring Tasmania's world heritage listed Port Arthur convict sites sits a salmon farm, operated by aquaculture giant Tassal. The farm's impacts on the reef systems in the surrounding waterways are the subject of a recent scientific report
CALLS TO CLOSE LONG BAY FISH FARM
Tasmanian Times
8 August 2022
EPA’s damning scientific report on the water quality in Long Bay, Port Arthur fuels calls for salmon pens to Leave Long Bay
On 23 July, at the Koonya Hall, Tasman Peninsula Marine Protection (TPMP) launched their campaign to Free Long Bay, Port Arthur of salmon pens. The campaign is fuelled by continuing concerns of deterioration in water quality and amenity in Long Bay after Tassal began stocking its lease in 2017.
Since late February TPMP has been requesting EPA/IMAS to release its report of the investigation into the waters adjacent to the bay’s salmon pens. Finally, the report is public and clearly reveals the wide ranging impact of Tassal’s salmon operations on Long Bay.
The study reveals that water quality and reef ecosystems are deteriorating way beyond the 35-metre zone allowed by the lease conditions. https://epa.tas.gov.au/environment/water/monitoring-programs/port-arthur-monitoring-progam and concludes that: “Nitrogen isotope data demonstrates that the farm is a nutrient source for macro algae communities at the sites directly adjacent to the lease.”
TASMAN PENINSULA PUBLIC MEETING ON LONG BAY AQUACULTURE
Tasmanian Times
20 July 2022
“Give back Long Bay, Port Arthur.
A community-driven effort to restore the waters around the World Heritage site of Port Arthur to their pristine state will be launched on Saturday, July 23, at 11.00am at the historic Koonya Hall on the Tasman Peninsula.
It follows growing concern about inundation of toxic algal blooms and diminishing water quality in Long Bay, immediately north of the Port Arthur World Heritage historic penal settlement.
Apart from its historic and cultural significance, the area is a major Tasmanian tourist destination, being the gateway to the award winning Three Capes walk in the Tasman National Park, and popular for marine ecotourism including whale watching, diving, kayaking, fishing and surfing.
The campaign’s first goal is to demand the removal of Tassal’s 16 open-net salmon pens, the major cause of algal blooms that have plagued the bay since 2017.
EPA director, Wes Ford has acknowledged to concerned locals that the waterway is not suitable for salmon pens with its low energy waters and little tide or current to flush away the effluent.
CALL FOR RELEASE OF LONG BAY WATER REPORT BY EPA
Tasmanian Times
19 July 2022
A crucial scientific investigation into the waters and marine life in Long Bay, next to World Heritage site Port Arthur is being withheld from residents amidst reports that it’s damning of the salmon industry’s impact.
Residents on the Tasman Peninsula are demanding to see the results but the Environmental Protection Agency is refusing to release them, claiming they’re being ‘peer reviewed’.
Yet the main reason for the investigation and the the prime source of increasing pollution in the bay – the salmon company, Tassal – has had full access to the draft report and its results.
“If there’s nothing to hide, why keep it secret?” says Peter George chair of the Tasmanian Alliance for Marine Protection, TAMP.
“Along with the community-based Tasman Peninsula Marine Protection, TAMP is calling on the EPA to release the results immediately rather than giving Tassal, the prime perpetrator, time to make up its excuses and claim ‘it won’t happen again’.
SEAGRASS SLIMED BY FISH FARM POLLUTION
Tasmanian Times
3 June 2022
Bob Brown Foundation has released new footage of crucial seagrass habitat being smothered by algae caused by a nearby Tasmanian salmon farm. The seagrass habitat is situated in Long Bay, connected to the wider bay of Port Arthur, which is flanked by the award-winning Port Arthur World Heritage Site and the Tasman National Park.
“Seagrass is a crucial habitat and nursery for marine life and a massive carbon sink. In these times of climate and biodiversity crises, these incredible habitats need to be protected. Instead, they are being smothered by algae caused by salmon farm pollution. This new footage shows the havoc being wreaked on the marine environment by the salmon industry right next to a World Heritage site and national park.” says Bob Brown Foundation’s Fish Farms and Marine Campaigner Bec Howarth.
“This is an opportunity for the Tasmanian government to follow one of the recommendations of its own recent Salmon Inquiry report and remove fish farms from biodiverse, sheltered waters by removing the pens from Long Bay, Port Arthur. This would give the sheltered and delicate marine ecosystem there a chance of restoration,” says Bob Brown Foundation’s Fish Farm Campaigner Alistair Allan.
SALMON GIANT TASSAL SILENT ON MASS DEATH OF FISH NEAR PORT ARTHUR
ABC News - Alexandra Humphries
13 February 2021
Tasmanian aquaculture giant Tassal has reported a sizeable salmon mortality event affecting its Long Bay lease near Port Arthur in the state's south but is refusing to detail the scale or cause of the deaths.
Tasmania's Environment Protection Authority has confirmed Tassal notified it of increased mortality at Long Bay across five individual cages earlier this month.
Mass salmon mortality events must be reported if deaths are more than 0.25 per cent of salmon contained in a single cage per day for three consecutive days.
Tassal responded to the ABC by stating it values "transparency and facts," but did not answer specific questions on the cause of the salmon deaths, the amount of salmon lost in the event, or the dates it occurred.
Tassal also did not provide details on how it was addressing the problem, or whether it had since been resolved.
TASMAN PENINSULA RESIDENTS FEAR FISH PENS TO BLAME FOR SLIMY ALGAE AT BAY NEAR PORT ARTHUR
ABC News - Alexandra Humphries
15 December 2019
Tasman Peninsula residents have been left "devastated" by an influx of slimy, slippery, odorous algae that has blanketed the area of Long Bay and Stingaree Bay, near Port Arthur.
Resident Christine Coughanowr, who is also an environmental scientist, has been kayaking in the area for years, but noticed a severe increase in algae a year ago.
"Visually [the algae] is pretty unpleasant, when it starts to rot it produces smells," she said.
"But underwater it's smothering sea grass, it's smothering seaweed, which are really the base of the system here.
"People that have lived here a long time are devastated."
SALMON FARM PLAN FOR LONG BAY ON THE TASMAN PENINSULA
The Mercury - Alex Lutrell
4 August 2017
Tassal plans to farm salmon at Port Arthur’s Long Bay for the first time in more than a decade.
The company is preparing to open seven pens at a 15ha site at Long Bay, which hasn’t been farmed since 2006.
There are plans for seven more pens in the future.
Greens leader Cassy O’Connor said mooring work was under way at Long Bay.
Ms O’Connor said more community consultation was needed and called on Tassal and the State Government to be more upfront.
FISH FARMING RETURNS TO PORT ARTHUR AS TASSAL PREPARES TO RESTOCK LEASE AFTER 11 YEARS
ABC News - Elise Fantin
3 August 2017
Salmon giant Tassal is ramping up work to restock its lease at Port Arthur, 11 years after it was last used.
The 15-hectare site in Long Bay is being prepared for at least seven salmon pens, expanding to 14 in the future.
The return of fish farming to the area has angered recreational fishers.
Tasmanian Association of Recreational Fishing chief executive Mark Nikolai said it would reduce access to popular fishing spots.
"Recreational boats won't be allowed to go in there and there is also a lot of recreational diving that happens along the shoreline," he said.
"It's an extremely popular recreational family fishing area."
Mr Nikolai said his organisation had put forward its concerns to Tassal and the State Government.
