Salmon Busters

FAQ's

  • Find answers to common questions about Tasmania’s industrial salmon farms and their environmental impacts on Tasmania's marine ecosystems.
Millions of salmon died due to a disease called P. salmonis, worsened by factory farm conditions—tens of thousands of fish packed together and water temperatures too high for Atlantic salmon.
Each pen can hold over 100,000 fish. The exact numbers at any time are not made public.
We use a mix of publicly available data, Right to Information requests, and industry sources. Lots of information about the industry is not reported or publicly available.

Florfenicol is a controversial antibiotic that was questionably approved for use in Tasmanian fish farms in 2025.

An astonishing 5400kg of florfenicol were used at fish farms in south east Tasmania in just a few short months before approval was removed. Comparatively, Norwegian factory fish farms used 500kg in 12months.

Given this large scale dumping of antibiotics into Tasmania’s waters, everyday citizens were warned not to catch fish within 3km of a factory farm where the antibiotic was being used.

Commercial fisheries such as rock lobster were forced to shut down due to the contamination risk.

It was then revealed in a government study that fish over 10km from fish farms were contaminated with the antibiotic.

Despite this, the government is set to approve the antibiotic for use again this summer (2026/27).

We do not warrant that the content will be error free, accurate or without interruption

This website has been prepared using best practices and due diligence using information available at the date of publication. All information is subject to change. All data is obtained from public or government sources. If the website displays information from an entity you represent and you believe the data is not accurately represented, supplemental information or a request for correction can be sent to salmonbusters@bobbrown.org.au

Help inform us

  • Use salmon busters to uncover the truth about the state’s factory farms of the sea and to report any secretive or suspicious activity you witness.
Report as a community member

Report confidentially

  • If you are an employee of Tasmania’s big salmon companies, you can anonymously report incidents here as well.
Report as a salmon employee
  • For community members

Report environmental impacts near fish farms

  • If you live near factory fish farms, hatcheries, or transport routes, your observations can help protect local waterways and wildlife. Use this form to share what you’ve seen, from injured seals and debris to pollution or algal blooms. Photos and details are encouraged.
  • For industry workers

Report an Incident Anonymously

  • If you are an employee of Tasmania’s big salmon companies, you can anonymously report incidents here as well.

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