
Tim runs a farm and a small landscaping business in northern Tasmania. Salmon farming is an important source of revenue for his company and the people he employs.

Kevin is an Anglican Minister, an earthmoving contractor and is still an amateur axeman at the age of 78. He knows the importance of Salmon farming to his neighbours, his community and to hundreds of other small businesses like his own.

Twins Porcha and Piper are just two of the hundreds of truck drivers who keep the Salmon farms moving, transport vital supplies and product across Tasmania.

Strahan locals Sammie and Salty both work in Salmon farming. A good source of stable employment allows them to raise their family in one of the greatest places on earth.

As the owner of a hardware store on the Tasman Peninsula, Robbie understands the economic benefit of Salmon farms in his community. As a recreational fisherman, he also sees the benefit of their work to improve the local environment.

Kelsey founded a cutting-edge robotics lab which monitors environmental conditions around Salmon farms. He knows better than anyone how the ocean thrives under and around the pens, and the importance of the industry to innovation and opportunity in Tasmania.

Roz and Brett's café feeds hundreds of local Salmon workers in Port Huon, providing employment for their fifteen staff and income for the businesses that supply them with local produce.
The industry has invested over $100 million in technology to keep wildlife out of the farming pens, to minimise interactions and protect worker safety. Salmon farming operates 24/7 in many places, with our workers spending more time on the water, keeping alert to marine wildlife hazards, and regularly acting as first responders, participating in whale rescues, marine debris clean-ups, and vessel assists.
Kelsey runs an underwater robotics company that supplies equipment used to conduct environmental surveys for the salmon industry. This work provides independent, continuous monitoring that goes well beyond what regulators require and gives us the most up to date picture of the seafloor.
Watch Kelsey's video and see for yourself!
The industry operates under strict environmental regulation and has invested over $681 million in research and development over the last decade, work done in partnership with independent bodies like CSIRO and IMAS, not just in-house. The science, not industry assurances, underpins how these farms are managed.
The Tasmanian salmon industry operates in many locations in Tasmania, including the Huon Valley, the Tasman Peninsula, the D'Entrecasteaux Channel, Triabunna, Strahan and Rowella.
Suppliers and businesses who rely on the industry are found across the state, from the Huon Valley and D'Entrecasteaux Channel in the south, to Westbury in the north and communities along the west coast.
Salmon workers live in, spend in, and contribute to their local communities. Businesses in towns like Port Huon report that aquaculture workers make up the majority of their morning and lunchtime trade. The industry also sponsors local football clubs, funds food banks, supports school programs, and invests in conservation partnerships with Tasmanian ecologists and researchers.
More than most people realise, think electricians, veterinarians, marine scientists, food processing workers, hatchery technicians, and the local teachers, doctors and service providers whose communities only exist because the industry does. Across Tasmania, the Deloitte report found the industry supports 5,103 full-time equivalent jobs, with nine out of ten of them in regional areas.
Read more about these numbers in the Deloitte report here.
Because the public debate about salmon farming rarely includes the voices of the thousands of Tasmanians whose livelihoods depend on the industry, and we think their stories deserve to be heard.
The people in this campaign volunteered their time because they wanted to share their story and how the salmon industry supports their future. They were not paid for their participation.
These are the words of real people, in their own communities, speaking about their own lives.
No. Every person featured is a real Tasmanian who works with or alongside the salmon industry: truck drivers, a hardware store owner, a minister, a photographer, a lawn mowing business. No scripts, no casting agents.
This campaign was funded by Salmon Tasmania, the peak industry body representing Tasmanian salmon farmers and the towns and businesses who rely on them. We're proud to stand behind it.