Project No: FRDC 2015/024
In Tasmania, salmon farming takes place in a range of different environmental conditions. The aims of this project were to explore the environmental interactions of salmon farming in Tasmanian marine waters and provide recommendations to government and industry on monitoring and management strategies associated with these interactions. These management strategies were assessed in the context of the farming location and its environmental sensitivities.
After a period of intensification and expansion of the finfish industry into new areas around Tasmania, the project was initiated in 2015 to:
This study addressed these aims across three salmon growing regions within Tasmania: Storm Bay and the D'Entrecasteaux Channel in the south-east and Macquarie Harbour on the west coast.
It is important to ensure that current monitoring and management practices associated with salmon farming in Tasmania remain appropriate with regards to both the level of risk associated with current farming practices and best practice in relation to the monitoring tools available for use.
Findings from the project show that the principles of monitoring local scale sediment impacts which were developed in 2004 (Macleod and Forbes, 2004) remain largely relevant. However, improved understanding of regional and site-specific variability provided by this project will enable management strategies to be better tailored to individual environmental situations.
In addition, the project established a robust monitoring program for inshore rocky reefs which has since been applied to the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, Storm Bay, the Derwent Estuary and Port Arthur.
Modelling tools were found to be useful, particularly in finfish farm site selection and identifying locations for environmental monitoring.
The final report for this project can be found HERE.
