Operational Compliance
Marine Farm Inspections
There are a range of requirements that licence and lease holders must comply with. These are created by instruments such as legislation, licences, leases and Marine Farming Development Plans. The Government has an inspection program where authorised officers from Government or Marine and Safety Tasmania visit and inspect marine farms for compliance.
Operations specific to the Marine Farming Inspection Program during Q1 and Q2 2020 were impacted by restrictions put in place as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The Aquaculture Branches Compliance and Inspection program completed all finfish marine farm lease inspections for the 2024 period, by the end of Q3.
Data from the current monitoring period
Quarter 4, 2024
Infringements
When an infringement is detected, authorised officers from Government or Marine and Safety Tasmania may issue an infringement notice.
Data from the current monitoring period
Quarter 4, 2024
Marine Debris clean ups
As the population and industries expand, marine debris is a growing environmental and navigational issue for the waterway. Debris may come from lots of sources including:
- pleasure craft
- commercial vessels
- fish farming activities
Debris may also end up in the ocean from land, for example litter, and runoff from stormwater drains. Finfish and shellfish farmers monitor and remove marine debris from nominated shorelines through an ‘Adopt a Shoreline’ initiative. The Government also participates in shoreline clean up activities. This helps to ensure that any debris, whether marine farming related or not, is collected and Tasmania’s coastline is protected.
In undertaking these activities, it is important to ensure that any sensitive bird breeding habitat is not impacted, and request that companies seek advice from BirdLife Tasmania prior to any targeted marine debris removal from sensitive bird breeding habitat during breeding season. BirdLife Tasmania has provided guidance on where and when shorebirds may be most vulnerable and general operational limits are now in place from September 1st – March 31st with some shoreline areas classified as 'avoid disturbance' and others as 'minimise disturbance – seek advice'. As such, corresponding 'effort' through these periods may appear reduced in some marine farming areas. Refer to the LISTmap layer ‘Bird breeding habitat and access recommendations’ for further information, which you can access here.
Operations and activities specific to the Marine Debris Clean ups program during Q1 and Q2 2020 were impacted by restrictions put in place as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Data from the current monitoring period
Quarter 4 2024
| Length of coastline surveyed (km) | Time spent surveying (hrs) | Volume collected (m3) | % attributable to fish farming |
|---|
| 69.00 | 230.00 | 13.32 | 71.41 |
Marine Farming Equipment Register
The Government has developed an equipment identification register with the three salmon companies to enable ownership of debris to be established. Companies have assisted in this regard with gear marking and colour coding of equipment for identification purposes. The register is a statewide register of equipment.
| Company | Marine farming equipment register provided? |
| Tassal | Y |
| Huon | Y |
| Petuna | Y |
Fish escapes notified to NRE
Salmon farmers must not release into Tasmania’s waters any fish unless authorised to do so. If fish are released this is a breach of their licence and operators must notify Government.
The table below shows which companies have reported fish escapes to Government. Sometimes companies fail to report fish escapes, and this is a breach of their licence and they may be penalised.
Data from the current monitoring period
Quarter 4, 2024