Salmon company banned overseas, supported here by both major parties

Australian political leaders of both major parties are in blanket support of the toxic salmon industry in Tasmania, while internationally the same companies are being banned. Last week PM Albanese and Opposition Leader Dutton were in Tasmania spruiking their support for the salmon industry, the largest of which is Tassal, owned by Canadian salmon giants, Cooke Aquaculture.

In direct contrast, Washington State USA recently announced a total ban on all open net fin fish aquaculture in state waters - a legal campaign launched after lax maintenance caused a Cooke salmon farm in Puget Sound to collapse, resulting in considerable environmental damage.

"We are talking about a company that has caused environmental harm in every country where they operate: Tasmania is no exception" says Jess Coughlan, NOFF campaigner.

"Political leaders should be doing their homework, and they should be listening to the majority of Tasmanians before publicly spruiking blind support for an industry that exploits and despoils Tasmania's natural heritage - an industry that hasn't paid corporate tax in the last 4 years."

"It is heartening to see that governments worldwide are waking up to the destructive ways of this polluting industry. If Australian politicians truly value the concerns of the public, and indeed their own political futures, they'll start to value our natural resources over corporate greed."

• For the more information on the Washington campaign see Wildfish Conservancy's coverage
• For more information on Cooke's operational history, see our Cooke Fact Check
• All comments attributed to Jess Coughlan, NOFF Campaigner noff7112@gmail.com ph: 0431 684 741