The Alternative Transitional Solution for Macquarie Harbour’s Salmon Farming and our Marine Environment.

My generation has never seen a coherent government. A government with all departments on the same page and working towards the common good for future generations in every respect. After WWII, the Australian Government while not perfect, knew it needed to rebuild the nation through large projects which lifted Australians’ quality of life for the future. At that time, the Australian Government also knew hard decisions needed to be made, which serviced future generations rather than favouring vested interests. In other words, if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.

There is a way to keep all of Macquarie Harbour’s salmon farming workers employed well into the future beginning with a 20% pay increase and room for expanding salmon production well into the future servicing Australian and international consumers with a premium product at affordable price points.

There is also a way to remove all salmon farming from Macquarie Harbour allowing the Maugean Skate and the local marine environment to recover and return to its natural ecological balance within the limits from future impacts like climate change.

If the Australian and Tasmanian Governments and the Tasmanian aquaculture industry wishes to be on the right side of history, regain operating under an acceptable social licence and deliver on environmental and local jobs commitments, it must invest in long term Land-based Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS)1.

RAS’s are closed contained systems which use recirculating technologies that treat and recycle as much as 99.9% of the water. RAS’s allow for a high degree of control of the farming environment avoiding external pests, viruses and pathogens while reclaiming nutrient loads and treating water for nitrogen compounds avoiding toxic effects for the fish. Controlling the controllables equals increased revenue. Considering only 9% of production comes from the harbour, industry’s claims of catastrophe if operations are removed are exaggerated at best. This plan once executed offers an excellent case compelling all Tasmanian salmon industry including Bass Strait operations to transition and opens the door for Tasmanian river operations to transition.

There is sufficient land adjacent to the habour to accommodate these facilities with much room for expansion into the future. The cost to provide additional upskilling to all current workers can easily be covered under current upskilling programs or by an industry education package. Some of Australia’s seafood industry is on a pathway to completely decarbonise, with one company, Austral Fisheries, being carbon neutral. Salmon farming shifting to RAS facilities can be powered by solar, next generation roof top horizontal wind turbines2, base load two-megawatt tidal hydro turbine units3 providing endless clean reliable energy with a battery farm4. This energy system would meet the RAS high demand energy needs, provide cheap or free electricity to the residents living near Macquarie Harbour and offer robust and reliable electricity bolstering the regional grid.

RAS facilities operate successfully in many countries around the world. Such as the United State5, Norway, Denmark, Poland, Canada, Iceland, Switzerland and Australia6. The governments and salmon farming companies can no longer say it is too costly or impossible to build. I say it is impossible until it is not. Our children must be allowed to enjoy the environment as we have and welcome certainty from reliable local jobs, protein and electricity.

It will take much investment and effort from governments, industry and community. But the payoffs outweigh the costs and are numerous. A significantly improved marine environment, more and long-term local jobs, Tasmania’s west can shift to renewable energy, Tasmania’s seafood industry’s social licence will improve, Tasmanian salmon farming companies can continue to operate with a scale up future while decarbonising, well priced premium protein is available to consumers far into the future and Tasmanian manufacturing can flex its muscles showing its world class capability.

I am a believer in long term solutions. Yes, long term decisions often mean more work but payoff in the long run. For too long, we have witnessed the elite rent seekers make short term decisions leaving long term problems in their wake. I will no longer accept the politically compromised and problem generators make short term decisions and future generations left with the long-term bill. It may sound like a cliché, nevertheless, the only way I can see us digging ourselves out of the hole successive governments have put us in, is by Moonshot thinking and initiatives. We have done it before; we can do it again.

If elected to parliament, I will call for the immediate destocking of Macquarie Harbour to levels of 2008, the immediate release of funds to retraining and reskilling of local workers and develop a rapid exit timeline. Hopefully this offers enough time for one of my first private member’s bills to be lodge including the need for investment into our food production systems which rapidly addresses environmental and biodiversity impacts while significantly improving employment and business production opportunities for Tasmanians and Australians.

I will also negotiate funding with the relevant primary industries minister to allocate funds through the Fisheries Research & Development Corporation to undertake a project developing a comprehensive shovel ready plan for the major project. This plan would be developed with input from the local community and council, state and federal government departments, community environmental groups, technical and engineering firms, Salmon Tasmania, Seafood Industry Tasmanian and Seafood Industry Australia.

“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” John F. Kennedy.

 

References

  1. Atlantic Sapphire, https://atlanticsapphire.com/innovation/
  2. Roof top turbine break through, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGQTwcq0UIY&t=987s
  3. Orbital Marine Power, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ_g3yNMy_g
  4. SA Big Battery Game Changer, https://www.cefc.com.au/case-studies/sa-big-battery-a-game-changer/#:~:text=Independent%20analysis%20for%20Neoen%20indicates,economic%20value%20to%20South%20Australia.
  5. Aqua Bounty Technologies, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dm-0EfAAY-8&list=PLmedPsuDJE06-pgKpevZ37sOpm35Q5JAt&index=13&t=29s
  6. Salmon Business, https://www.salmonbusiness.com/these-are-the-leading-land-based-salmon-farms-in-the-world-right-now/