Salmon experts meet to plan ambitious 2018 Global Salmon Symposium

International and locally-based salmon experts today gathered in Hobart for a three day planning conference to lay the groundwork for a major symposium on the salmon industry to be held in Tasmania next year.

Scheduled for late-2018, the Global Salmon Symposium is being developed with the ambitious goals of helping to make Tasmania’s salmon industry the most environmentally sustainable in the world and creating an industry that all Tasmanians can be proud of.

The Symposium is being planned through collaboration between salmon companies Huon Aquaculture, Tassal and Petuna, the Tasmanian Salmon Growers Association (TSGA), the Tasmanian Government, the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC), IMAS and the University of Tasmania.

University of Tasmania Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) Professor Brigid Heywood said this week’s planning conference brought experts from Norway, Sweden, Scotland, England, Canada, and the Netherlands together with Tasmanian-based scientists, companies and regulators.

“The University has a proud record of delivering research that brings tangible benefits to the Tasmanian community and economy, including a central role in the birth of the Tasmanian salmon industry 30 years ago,” Professor Heywood said.

“We are therefore delighted to be part of a partnership between industry, government and researchers that now aims to help take the salmon industry to the next level.

“Creating the world’s most environmentally sustainable salmon industry will require a clear focus on the development of both sea and land-based farming operations, utilisation of the best available technologies, and collaboration with researchers and aquaculture innovators.

“Next year’s Symposium will review world’s best practices and future developments in farming systems, environmental management, biosecurity, science and policy.

“Today’s meeting is about setting a clear direction and building an agenda for the 2018 Global Salmon Symposium, to ensure we have the right people in attendance and address the right issues.

“To help with our planning we have brought together a who’s who of the world’s leading experts in salmon aquaculture, from scientists to financial analysts, and from regulators to corporate governance specialists and non-government organisations,” Professor Heywood said.

The planning session, which concludes on Friday, will include keynote addresses and an expert panel discussion, followed by workshops on future farming, biosecurity and the environment.