Aquaculture in
Storm Bay
Storm Bay, in Tasmania’s south east, provides an opportunity to encourage science-driven growth in Tasmania’s $1.3 billion salmon industry, creating new jobs in the region, and providing sustainably sourced healthy seafood for Australian diets.
Storm Bay
Storm Bay has been identified by leading scientists at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies as having “very high” suitability for salmon aquaculture.
There has been considerable scientific research including sophisticated computer modelling undertaken over several years on the environmental conditions to support any further growth in Storm Bay.
- CSIRO and IMAS have modelled nutrient emissions to ensure any salmon farms in Storm Bay operate harmoniously within its ecosystem, providing a baseline for monitoring water quality, sediments, fringing reefs, and seagrass beds.
- The IMAS Statewide Finfish Aquaculture Spatial Planning Exercise, which considered a wide range of factors such as water quality, depth, and proximity to sensitive habitats, rated these sites as “very highly suitable” for sustainable marine farming.
This research known as “The Storm Bay Research Program” is a suite of Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) funded research projects that will provide scientific knowledge and tools to guide sustainable management of impacts from Atlantic Salmon farming within Storm Bay.
The research projects are being conducted by the Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS).
The research program has been designed to respond to the recommendations of the Tasmanian Government’s Marine Farming Review Panel and will directly feed into Tasmanian Government planning and regulation of the Atlantic Salmon farming industry in Storm Bay.
One of the projects delivers a hindcast and near real time Storm Bay Modelling and Information System that is fit for the purpose of simulating water quality and characterising nutrients in Storm Bay from ocean currents, sediment resuspension, river and anthropogenic (including fish farm) inputs.
The projects have been subject to internal and external peer review, who note: ‘The authors are to be congratulated on an impressive and comprehensive modelling study and report. The work follows or exceeds current best practices in marine biogeochemical modelling and model evaluation.’
Information on the program can be found here:
Importantly, any proposal for new salmon farms will be assessed by the Tasmanian Government, and independently by Tasmania’s Environment Protection Authority and other scientific experts with periods of statutory public consultation with considerable opportunity for community consultation and public scrutiny.
Tasmania’s salmon industry represents a modern, sophisticated aquaculture industry with a diverse workforce that plays an integral role in feeding the world sustainably.
Our three member companies farm healthy, sustainable protein and are all focused on sustainable and healthy production growth. We know we are stewards of the waterways we farm, and the only way we can, and do, operate is so these waterways can be enjoyed and farmed for generations to come.
Aquaculture is a leading Tasmanian primary industry, a generator of employment, technology, services and suppliers, creating a strong economic and jobs multiplier effect; integral for Tasmania’s future and current industry prosperity.
The industry works continuously to be world-leading in terms of environmental management, fish-health practices, biosecurity, and sustainability to ensure all our stakeholders can continue to be proud of their collective efforts farming the world’s most sustainable protein.
The future landscape of aquaculture in Australia offers some very exciting opportunities. We have a growing world population and a decline in wild fish stocks, and an enormous amount of ocean. The only way we can sustainably feed this growing population is through aquaculture.
Internationally recognised for its innovation, this $1.3 billion industry continues to be one of Tasmania’s great success stories of the past 30 years.
More information can be found here: