The EPA has renewed Tassal’s licence to operate salmon pens in Long Bay on the Tasman Peninsula near the World Heritage-listed Port Arthur site, despite years of opposition from local residents.
The decision, published on Monday, allows Tassal to continue farming in the bay until November 30 next year.
EPA Director Catherine Murdoch said she was satisfied “that environmental impacts which may occur as a result of fish farming activities in Long Bay-Port Arthur can be appropriately managed utilising the existing and varied licence conditions and other regulatory tools.”
The EPA received 83 submissions opposing the renewal.
Murdoch acknowledged “the depth of community concern against Tassal’s Long Bay fish farm” but concluded “there is no basis to determine that the applicant is not a fit and proper person to hold an environmental licence.”
The determination noted Tassal had two rule breaches on the Long Bay licence and 10 fines under environmental laws across its statewide operations over the past five years.
The EPA also acknowledged it did not conduct baseline health assessments before salmon pens were first permitted in 2017, making it impossible to compare conditions before and after farming began.
Its determination stated the “impending review of the [nitrogen cap] for Long Bay provides adequate opportunity to review and extend the scientific basis for decision-making and to further reduce the scale of finfish farming to a sustainable level, if found to be warranted.”
Independent MP for Franklin Peter George was critical of the decision.
“Yet again, the behemoth salmon industry has got its way despite growing resistance from residents and in the face of independent scientists’ warnings that the health of Long Bay, on the Tasman Peninsula, has visibly deteriorated since salmon pens were installed,” George said.
He said the decision was “deeply disappointing for residents, if hardly unexpected as the industry is rarely denied what it wants.”
George said an eight-month delay in approving the renewal had raised hopes that Tassal might be required to leave the waterway.
He also noted the decision came even though a review of dissolved oxygen levels in the bay had not been carried out.
George raised concerns about a predicted strong El Nino event, warning it could cause rapidly warming waters in the semi-closed bay along with the potential for disease and mass fish deaths.
