The biggest three are all foreign owned. The other licence holders are subsidiary companies of the big three.

Inside Tasmania’s Salmon Industry: Who Owns the Farms and Where Are They?

AUSTRALIA
Monday, April 21, 2025, 00:10 (GMT + 9)

A breakdown of the companies, locations, and challenges shaping Tasmania’s billion-dollar salmon farming industry.

Tasmania's salmon aquaculture industry has grown from humble beginnings in the 1980s into a billion-dollar powerhouse. In the 2022–23 financial year alone, the island state produced nearly 75,000 tonnes of Atlantic salmon, according to ABC journalist Clancy Balen. Tasmania now ranks as Australia’s largest producer of Atlantic salmon, employing over 1,700 full-time workers, based on figures from the Tasmanian Government.

Click on the image to enlarge it. Source: Tasmanian Alliance for Marine Protection

Where Are the Salmon Farms Located?

Salmon farms in Tasmania are spread across marine farm leases around the state, but the majority are clustered in the south-east, near major waterways and transport links. To operate, each leaseholder must hold a "salmonid marine farming licence" issued by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE).

As of March 2025, there are 47 active licences statewide. These are held by just eight companies, with most farms situated in areas such as the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, Storm Bay, and Macquarie Harbour.

Salmon farm off the coast of Bruny Island, Tasmania. Photo: EDO

Who Owns Tasmania's Salmon Farms?

While multiple licences exist, control is concentrated in the hands of three major foreign-owned corporations:

• JBS (Brazil) — Operates through Huon Aquaculture

• Sealord Group (New Zealand) — Operates through Petuna

• Cooke Aquaculture (Canada) — Operates through Tassal

Other licence holders include subsidiaries operated by these three giants:

• Mercury Passage Pty Ltd – Operates under Tassal

• Aquatas – Operated by Tassal

• Russfal – Holds licences used by both Tassal and Huon

Source: CSIRO

In northern Tasmania, Van Diemen Aquaculture—a Petuna-owned firm—holds a single licence in the Tamar Estuary, just south of Bell Bay.

Meanwhile, South East Aquaculture, formerly Alstergren Aquaculture, holds a salmon farming licence for Satellite Island in the D’Entrecasteaux Channel.

The West Coast: Macquarie Harbour

All west coast salmon farming takes place in Macquarie Harbour, near Strahan. The region hosts 10 leases across 11 sites (two sites share a licence).

According to Salmon Tasmania CEO Luke Martin, the industry employs about 120 people in the Macquarie Harbour area, with another 250 working in logistics and processing in the state’s north-west.

Each dot on this map shows an active salmonid marine farming licence in Macquarie Harbour, along with which company operates out the corresponding lease. ( Photo: courtesy ABC News: Magie Khameneh)

However, farming in the harbour has come under intense scrutiny. Scientific research links the industry to the decline of the endangered Maugean skate, prompting government and industry investment in environmental remediation.

The situation intensified in late 2023 when approximately 10% of all salmon farmed in the harbour died between September 2023 and March 2024.

While Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek initiated a review of the 2012 farming expansion approvals, new legislation passed on March 26, 2025, has since overridden the review, allowing farming to continue under current approvals.

The South-East: Industry Epicentre

The south-east remains the heart of Tasmania’s salmon farming industry. Farms are licensed near Nubeena, Long Bay (near Port Arthur), and Storm Bay. The highest concentration of licences is in the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, between Bruny Island and Dover.

In early 2025, this region experienced the industry's worst-ever disease outbreak. In February, a bacterial infection (Piscirickettsia salmonis) led to mass fish deaths at Huon and Tassal farms.

This map shows which salmon companies operate in the D'Entrecasteaux Channel, where a mass mortality event occurred in February.  ( Photo: courtesy ABC News: Magie Khameneh)

The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) later confirmed that over 6,300 tonnes of dead salmon—roughly 8% of annual production—were buried in a waste facility. In the weeks that followed, residents reported rotting fish material and fatty globules washing ashore at Verona Sands and Bruny Island, along with traces of antibiotics.

In March, environmental group The Bob Brown Foundation released drone footage showing Huon workers placing live diseased fish into tubs with dead ones—an act that led to the RSPCA suspending its animal welfare certification of Huon Aquaculture.

What’s Next for the Industry?

Despite growing controversy, Tasmania’s salmon industry has its sights set on expansion.

Storm Bay, located south-east of Hobart, is a key target. Petuna has already secured access to leases there, citing "optimal farming conditions" that enhance fish health. In 2022, new biosecurity rules were introduced, mandating a 4-kilometre separation between juvenile and adult fish populations.

Salmon Tasmania CEO Luke Martin said expansion will be “science-led and highly regulated,” noting that more than eight years of research has gone into assessing Storm Bay’s carrying capacity.

Meanwhile, research is also underway into offshore aquaculture. The Blue Economy CRC, a Tasmania-based marine research organization, has proposed a trial in Commonwealth waters in the Bass Strait, approximately 12 kilometres off Burnie.

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