Environmental Standards

​​​​​The Environmental Standards for Tasmanian Marine Finfish Farming 2023 (the Environmental Standards) are now in force. They set out the industry's environmental regulatory framework under the Environmental Management and Pollution Control Act 1994 (EMPCA). The Environment Protection Authority (EPA)​ is the agency responsible for implementing the Environmental Standards and regulating the industry.

​A Companion Paper that provides context and explanatory detail is also available, which is intended to be read alongside the final Environmental Standards, which are both below.

 Environmental Standards for Tasmanian Marine Finfish Farming 2023 (PDF 546Kb)

 Companion Paper - Environmental Standards for Tasmanian Marine Finfish Farming 2023 (PDF 2Mb)


Background

The Environmental Standards have been prepared by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas) in consultation with the Environment Protection Authority (EPA)​, who provided the regulatory and technical content. The independent EPA is the agency responsible for implementing the Environmental Standards and regulating the finfish farming industry.

The Environmental Standards are one of a set of aquaculture standards committed to in the Tasmanian Salmon Industry Plan, which are designed to enhance regulation and management of the marine finfish farming industry in Tasmania.

The development of the Environmental Standards has been informed by an international review of environmental management frameworks for salmon farming and how Tasmania compares to other jurisdictions. Research by the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS)​ and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) was also considered during the development of the Environmental Standards, ensuring they were appropriate for the local marine environment.


Technical Standards

Implementation of the Environmental Standards will be supported by Technical Standards which are currently being developed by the EPA. Technical Standards will specify methodology or process requirements that will support implentation of the Environmental Standards.

​​Frequently Asked Questions

The frequently asked questions about the Environmental Standards can be found in this ​​​document.

​​Consultation on Draft Environmental Standards

Stakeholders and the wider public were invited to provide feedback on the Draft Environmental Standards during a six-week public consultation period which closed on 21 March 2023. Matters raised in the submissions have been carefully considered resulting in several changes being made to the final Environmental Standards. The Consultation Summary Report describes what changes were made and where changes were not made, the reasons why.  

The Consultation Summary Report, Consultation Draft, and Explanatory Paper are available below.


 Consultation Summary Report - Draft Environmental Standards for Tasmanian Marine Finfish Farming 2023 (PDF 808Kb)

 Consultation Draft - Environmental Standards for Tasmanian Marine Finfish Farming 2023 (PDF 381Kb)

 Explanatory Paper - Consultation Draft Environmental Standards for Tasmanian Marine Finfish Farming 2023 (PDF 294Kb)


Stakeholder Submissions

Copies of submissions received in response to the public invitation to comment on the DRAFT Environmental Standards can be found below. In accordance with Tasmanian Government policy, private address and contact details have not been published and are redacted from the document. Submissions that requested confidentiality have been redacted accordingly. ​


 All submissions compilation - Draft Environmental Standards 2023 (PDF 11Mb)

 Submission 1 - Susan Cowgill (PDF 134Kb)

 Submission 2 - Chris Wells (PDF 155Kb)

 Submission 3 - John Pitt (PDF 166Kb)

 Submission 4 - Neighbours of Fish Farming (NOFF) (PDF 238Kb)

 Submission 5 - Cape Herbert Pty Ltd (PDF 2Mb)

 Submission 6 - Tasmanian Independent Science Council (TISC) (PDF 437Kb)

 Submission 6 - TISC Enclosure (PDF 224Kb)

 Submission 7 - Confidential (Stakeholder name) (PDF 144Kb)

 Submission 8 - Aquenal Pty Ltd (PDF 270Kb)

 Submission 9 - Salmon Tasmania (PDF 5Mb)

 Submission 10 - Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) (PDF 2Mb)

 Submission 11 - Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) (PDF 410Kb)

 Submission 12 - Confidential (Everything) (PDF 31Kb)

 Submission 13 - Cherrie Consulting (PDF 147Kb)


Contact

Environment Policy and Projects

Environment, Heritage and Lands Division