Huon Aquaculture gets a (very minor) slap on the wrist for breaking environmental protection rules: a company with revenues of $145 million will have to stump up a mere $40,000 fine for six breaches of Tasmania’s environment protection regulations – one of which included dumping 80,000 litres of contaminated water considered toxic to marine life …
Secrecy just creates a fishy smell
An opinion piece in the Hobart Mercury recently posed some serious questions for the salmon industry in Tasmania: Do you concede that the algal slime found throughout the channel and Macquarie Harbour is a result of excess nutrient loading, primarily from fish farms? What is the omega 3 to omega 6 ratio in your product …
Industry and government websites of little use
A recent study by NOFF identifies issues about the usability and content of the websites of the leading players in the Tasmanian salmon farming industry: Tassal, Huon Aquaculture, Petuna, DPIPWE and the EPA. Some of the websites appear on first examination to be quite good examples of modern website design, however each of them has …
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Storm Bay: cultural and natural values, gaps in information
There are serious concerns about the potential impacts of the planned expansion of salmon farming into Tasmania’s Storm Bay, including impacts on the natural, community and economic values of the region. The report identifies these current values, provides an extensive list of references to other sources of information, and calls for an independent State of …
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Making mountains out of minnows: salmon in the Tasmanian economy
The Australia Institute reports that the economic benefit of the salmon industry to Tasmania is weighted strongly against its environmental and social impacts. Yet it accounts for just 1% of jobs in the state. Over 5 years $3.8 billion worth of fish were sold, but just $64 million tax paid, while $9.3 million in subsidies …
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Pollution levels in Derwent and Florentine headwaters
A scientific report for Environment Tasmania shows high levels of pollution in the headwaters of the Derwent and Florentine rivers, downstream from two salmon hatcheries. It reveals very high nutrient levels in both the outfalls and downstream rivers, ranging from 5 to more than 128 times upstream levels. Significant levels of fouling were also observed …
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Few companies follow their own industry standards
In September 2018 Seachoice published a report which reviewed how well the world's fish farming industry conforms to the standards of its own Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC). Their review states that the ASC “responsibly farmed” eco-label is considered the gold Standard of farmed seafood eco-certifications. But our review of ASC certified salmon farms around the …
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Welcome to our website
Neighbours of Fish Farming (NOFF) is a community-based volunteer organisation based in southern Tasmania. Our objective is to promote sustainable, responsible, environmentally sensitive fish farming, regulated by transparent government and commercial processes. We'll add to this page frequently, with the latest news, information about our activities and those of like-minded organisations elsewhere, and information about, …
Neighbours of fish farming 