The Bruny Island residents telling Tassal to abandon the D’Entrecasteaux Channel

Residents of a small Bruny Island community are calling for Australia’s largest Tasmanian-grown salmon producer to abandon its leases in the D’Entrecasteaux Channel. Hear from the famous face joining the fight >>

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A SMALL but mighty group of Bruny Island residents is taking on Tasmania’s largest salmon producer.

Killora Community Association spokesman Gerard Castles says the time has come for Tassal to leave northern D’Entrecasteaux Channel and for its leases to be handed back to the state government.

Mr Castles said following years of trying to come to a compromise with the company, the community has had enough.

“The flathead are gone and the seabed is a desert,” he said.

“What was once rich with marine life is now slimed with algae from their pollution, frequently full of jellyfish and little else.”

Bruny Island residents Gerard Castles and Essie Davis from Killora Community Association are concerned about the impact salmon farming is having on the environment in their area. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

Mr Castles said the western side of the Channel should be made into an extension of the Tinderbox Marine Reserve.

“We think this is the time to make this the people’s water again.”

A renowned actress and fellow Bruny Island resident has also joined the cause.

Essie Davis said this was not an industrial area.

“It’s a place of deep quiet and abundant marine life, and both are being wiped out,” she said.

“It’s our Tasmania, not Tassal’s to turn into a filthy, noisy fish factory.”

She said Tassal needed to move into deep waters or transition their operations onland.

“All the children of the world are standing up for the environment, and adults have got to do it too,” she said.

Salmon farming pens in the Channel between Margate and Bruny Island. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

A Tassal spokesperson said its operations in the Upper Channel were fully compliant with the regulatory setting and its licence conditions.

“We then go above and beyond the regulatory guidelines to accommodate our neighbours,” they said.

“Following a complaint from several Killora residents, Tassal sought expert noise advice and purchased and installed additional tailored noise mitigating infrastructure to further mitigate noise on the Upper Channel leases even though all operations are within the licence conditions.”

Salmon farming pens near Tinderbox in North-West Bay. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

Liberal Bass MP Michael Ferguson said the state government was not considering taking back Tassal’s leases to crease a marine reserve.

“If somebody does take a matter to the environmental police and they’re not happy with the answer, maybe it’s because the matter has actually been dealt with or it wasn’t a substantive claim,” he said.

He said the maritime and aquaculture industries were vital to Tasmanian employment.

“We can’t be having this ‘not in my backyard’ approach that might see people thrown onto the unemployment scrap heap,” he said.

Greens leader Cassy O’Connor said she supported the Killora community in their efforts.

“We are seeing the industrialisation and privatisation of Tasmania’s shared waterways,” she said.

“Whatever the fish farming companies are paying to government for their lease and licences is not compensating for the loss of public amenity and the amount of marine pollution and marine debris that is coming from those fish farms.”

Mr Castles said Tassal paid less than $30,000 per year to lease the Sheppards and Simmonds farm sites.

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