Violations
Communications between Tassal and the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (DPIPWE) recorded several "unacceptable environmental impacts" from 2005 and 2009, something Greens leader Kim Booth called a "background of non-compliance."[25]
During November 2016, non-compliances were detected at leases in Macquarie Harbour, where three salmon companies farm. Tassal alerted the EPA to issues and subsequently destocked its Franklin lease in the harbour. The lease was fallowed for 18 months, during which time Aquaculture Stewardship Council was not pursued for the lease as there were no fish in it.[26]
In May 2017, the ASC found Tassal had failed to comply with 19 requirements for ASC Certification in Macquarie Harbour.[27]
Inquiry witness tampering
In February 9, 2017 a senate committee was established to investigate claims of witness tampering made in a 2016 episode of the investigative television program Four Corners. The show focused on the Tasmanian Salmon aquaculture industry and the local opposition to bay leases, with issues covered including environmental impact, health and sustainability practices of Tassal in particular. The episode included interviews with Dover mussel farmer Warwick Hastwell who accused Tassal of ruining his business. Located downstream from Tassel's main farm, mussels stopped growing there after being covered with orange tunicate, an invasive invertebrate that Hastwell believed originated from in-water cleaning of salmon pens.[28][25] Hastwell claimed that Tassal had paid a lump sum for his leases and a confidentiality deed. Set to give evidence in a 2015 senate inquiry into the aquaculture industry, Tassal e-mailed Hastwell's lawyer, "We remind your clients of their obligations not to make disparaging statements whether in relation to the Senate Enquiry (sic) or to the media or otherwise."[29][30] Hastwell did not appear during the senate inquiry. On February 8, 2017 Tasmanian Senator Stephen Parry told parliament that the Environment and Communications Committee reported, "Having taken the necessary steps, the committee has concluded that the witness may have been improperly influenced."
On 26 April 2021, Tasmanian author Richard Flanagan published the controversial non-fiction book Toxic: The Rotting Underbelly of the Tasmanian Salmon Industry, which claimed to expose a range of unethical practices in the Tasmanian salmon industry.[32]
Macquarie Harbour
In May 2018, Tassal established a joint venture with Petuna to farm in Macquarie Harbour. The goal was to improve stocking strategies, bio-security and allow longer fallowing periods to protect the environment.[33]
Antibiotic use
Concerns have been raised by Tasmanian community groups, such as the organization Marine Protection Tasmania, over the use of antibiotics by the company, particularly regarding the fact that there is a legally required 1000 degree day antibiotic withdrawal period before a farm salmon is slaughtered, but "wild" salmon that is fished by the public may still be contaminated with antibiotic residue. A monitoring report by the Environment Protection Authority Tasmania (EPA) that was published in July 2022 found that after heavy antibiotic use in response to a vibrio outbreak in Tassal's Sheppards lease in January of that year, flathead salmon caught 2 km away from the boundary of Tassal's lease contained levels of antibiotics above the reportable threshold. Additionally, the World Health Organization has warned that antibiotics misuse contributes to antibiotic-resistant organisms developing, and that vaccination ought be used to prevent misuse. Tassal attempted to prevent the 2022 report, as well as another antibiotic residue monitoring report from September 2020, from being released to the public by the EPA.[34]
In 2017 Tassal confirmed its use of the antibiotic oxytetracycline,[35] which was not used in humans in 2018 in Australia, and was rated as low importance by the Australian Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Antimicrobial Resistance.[36]
