Financial Returns

Fish farmers pay very little to use our waterways or fresh water. The cost of leases in other parts of the world is far higher, and much of the money raised goes specifically to local communities. Not so in Tasmania. The Australia Institute estimates that changing leasing arrangements to the Norwegian model could raise $2 billion for community development.
Now that all three salmon companies are 100% overseas owned, there is even less transparency in reporting, and all profits go overseas.
Relative to salmon farming, our tourism, hospitality and agricultural industries are far more important, and will suffer reputational damage if current fish farming operations continue unchanged and unchecked.
The Tasmanian Independent Science Council has described claims of employment and other benefits, by industry mouthpiece Salmon Tasmania, as misleading and overstated, and ignoring social and environmental costs such as environmental impacts, subsidies paid by governments, or loss of public amenities.
The Australia Institute has released an anlysis showing how very little tax the salmon industry contributes, and how exaggerated industry emplyment claims are - read their analysis here.