The Tasmanian government has hopped on the PR road train to try to help rebuild public support for the island's salmon industry.
"This is an industry that desperately wants the Tasmanian people's approval," Primary Industries Minister Jo Palmer said.
The minister was speaking at the release of the Tasmanian government's Salmon Industry Plan in Hobart, where she also admitted the big salmon companies had lost their social licence with the public over the past years.
"They keep putting things in place, they try to be as transparent as they can, they have really come to the table and are really wanting to participate in having that social licence returned," Ms Palmer said.
However, Ms Palmer urged Tasmanians to read the Salmon Industry Plan and give the industry a chance.
"As a government and as an industry, we are striving towards ensuring we do have the acceptance of the people of Tasmania, we want them to actually be really proud of this industry," she said.
Minister points to 'industry research' of 'noisy minority' opponents
Ms Palmer described critics of the salmon industry as a "very small, but very noisy group of people in our community who want nothing more than this industry to be shut down."
When questioned about what numbers made up the "vocal minority", the minister referred to surveys done by the salmon companies.
"There's been a lot of research that's actually been done, interestingly, by some of the salmon companies, looking at what are people's opinions of the salmon industry, it's interesting, there's a small group of very noisy people at one end," she said.
Ms Palmer pointed to the 1,200 submissions received as part of the public consultation plan.
"A great number of them weren't even Tasmanian, they were from Australia, and indeed, from right around the world," she said.
"There's a huge body of people in our community, who just want to know that Tasmania's brand has been protected, that this is a sustainable industry, that it is courteous towards what we expect environmentally, and they understand the importance of this."
'No targets, no commitments, no limits,' Greens say
Critics are describing the plan as a cynical public relations exercise with very little detail.
"It says absolutely nothing in response to the science and the community concerns about the damage to the marine environment," Tasmanian Green MP Rosalie Woodruff said.
"This plan has no targets, no commitments, no limits, no definitions, absolutely nothing that will change the current situation," she added.
The new Salmon Industry Plan lists 11 priorities, which include a regulatory framework that allows the salmon industry to increase in size.
While the government has dropped its former highly promoted target to double the industry by 2030, it said the industry was well on its way to achieving that anyway.
Ian Dutton, the director of marine resources at the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania, said the previous salmon plan had a target of "$2 billion by 2030".
"We actually reached a billion dollars a couple of years ago in Tasmania, so we're well on track, just in terms of value of production alone to reach a significant target.
"But there are no growth targets in this plan, to be very clear," he said.
Another key priority in the plan is making aquaculture companies foot the cost of the government managing the industry from July.
The chairman of industry group Salmon Tasmania, Lyall Howard, said that concerned him because it amounted to a levy "on a successful industry".
"Industry spends millions of dollars every year investing in local communities, in sporting clubs, community organisations and important local causes," he said.
"Imposing further levies on the industry, under the guise of increased returns to the community, creates uncertainty that puts future investment and jobs in Tasmania at risk.
"We look forward to working with the government through its industry working group to ensure these mechanisms are fair and provide actual benefit to the communities in which our people live and work."
Fish farms encouraged to move offshore
The government will also develop new environmental standards and will encourage, but not compel, companies to switch to farming further offshore. Companies will also be required to keep baby fish in enclosed hatcheries for longer.
Dr Dutton pointed to south-east waters, including Storm Bay and further south into the Tasman Sea, as the areas the Tasmanian government saw as having the greatest opportunity for future growth.
While not ruling out bringing dormant fish farming leases to life, he said the current farming footprint (of active and non-active leases) could be made more efficient.
New areas will be considered for exclusion zones where there are no existing leases, including areas in the Furneaux Islands, off the north-east coast.
The review commits to a revised salmon farming data portal and new wildlife interaction and management standards, referring to seals specifically but providing no other details.
The plan also mentions the industry will need to give an "appropriate return to community," although there are no details about what that might look like.
Trish Bailey, from the Tasmanian Alliance and Marine Protection, said her organisation was bitterly disappointed.
"There is here is nothing in this plan that has just been released to show how they're going to recover the costs that are borne by the taxpayers of this incredible, polluting industry," she said.
"There's nothing in this plan … it is exactly the same as the draft salmon plan they gave to us last August," she said.
Tasmania's three salmon producers are all foreign-owned since the last remaining company, Tassal, was bought by Canadian seafood giant Cooke in 2022.
Huon Aquaculture was acquired by Brazil's JBS Foods in 2021 and Petuna was taken over by New Zealand's Sealord in 2020.
Farmed salmon off the MONA menu
As for Ms Palmer's plea to give the industry a chance, more will need to be done to convince some to have salmon back on the menu.
Vince Trim, executive chef at MONA (Museum of Old and New Art) said his kitchens "haven't served salmon at any of MONA'S restaurants since 2017".
"With little trust in the industry, we believe there are better alternatives to heavily farmed fish — especially when lutruwita/Tasmania's pristine waterways are at risk."
Mr Trim said while MONA had not encountered guests asking about salmon ahead of time, the restaurant's shunning of the product had "come up in conversation in the dining room to positive and supportive reactions".
"MONA continues to evolve our approach to produce and our menus, but can't see ourselves changing this one any time soon."
Scientist Christine Coughanowr described the 2023 industry plan as "deeply disappointing and a missed opportunity for fundamental change".
"Despite nearly 1,000 written submissions and countless voices raised at 10 public meetings across Tasmania, the plan does not address the single largest concern of Tasmanians … the need to investigate and address the widespread impacts of existing operations on the environment, on native species, and on coastal communities prior to further expansion."
Dr Coughanowr said the industry plan and "many of the associated draft standards largely exclude existing operations from consideration and in some cases even allow for an increased area of impact".
"Added to this is the lack of a detailed economic analysis to provide the necessary basis for an informed debate about the costs and benefits of the industry to regional communities and to the state as a whole."
She said a "plan B" had been prepared as an alternative by the Tasmanian Independent Science Council which "starts with a pause on further growth until existing operations have been fully audited, sets clear incentives and timelines for a transition out of coastal waterways, and prioritises better economic returns to the state, including security of jobs in regional areas".
