A NUMBER of marine farm licence breaches in the West Coast's Macquarie Harbour between 2005 and 2009 raise ``serious environmental concerns'' which should cause the state government to rethink its support for an expansion of marine farming, the Tasmanian Greens say.
But Primary Industries Minister Bryan Green said each of the breaches had been handled appropriately by the department with appropriate remedial action by the licensees involved.
Salmon producer Tassal, which breached its licence conditions in 2006, 2008 and 2009, said it had been 100 per cent compliant since 2009.
`'Tassal is in no way hiding our compliance record and we strive for continuous improvement in our operations,'' chief sustainability officer Linda Sams said.
She said the company had created an environment and sustainability department and conducted regular compliance and internal surveys.
Ms Sams said she was surprised Tasmanian Greens primary industries spokesman Kim Booth released the information yesterday when it had been available as part of a proposal to increase fish farming in Macquarie Harbour and was released for public comment in early November last year.
Mr Green said the planning authority was preparing a report on the representations received, which would be forwarded to the Marine Farming Planning Review Panel.
Mr Booth said marine farm planning should be brought under the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act to avoid inappropriate developments.
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