Fisheries giant Tassal’s new East Coast lease, situated roughly 6 kilometres west of Triabunna, will commence operations in August.

Chris Massie, a scale fisherman, is joined on his boat by friend Tim James.

“Salmon farming is an important industry and no one wants it shut down, but there needs to be proper regulation,” Mr Massie said.

“Okehampton Bay isn’t the right place for 800,000 salmon.

“It’s shallow, there’s low tidal flow and I believe faeces will build up under the pens.”

Mr Massie said he had “caught a lot of flack” for his stance on Tassal’s expansion plan.

“My family and generations of my wife’s family have lived around and love Orford, which is a special spot for families with small boats and for recreational fishing,” he said.

“As a commercial fisherman, I have a right to question the impacts salmon farming has on our marine environment, because all of our jobs depend on healthy fish stocks.”

Mr Massie’s father Ron was formerly the head of Maritime Police in Tasmania, as well as the chief operating officer of the Department of Primary Industries’ Fisheries Division.

Tassal’s senior corporate engagement manager Barbara McGregor said the company respected a person’s right to protest “as long as this remains outside of the Okehampton Bay lease area for biosecurity and safety reasons”.

“Tassal is confident that Okehampton Bay will be a sustainable success,” Ms McGregor said.

“[The company] … plans to address currently depleted wild fish stock in the region through a conservation project to rehabilitate and rejuvenate ecological and biological species for farming and recreational purposes.

"Tassal is committed to the Okehampton Bay project being world-class and given the volume of misinformation in the public domain, welcomes the opportunity to engage directly with anyone concerned to ensure they have both the scientific facts and an understanding of sustainable operational and conservation plans for the region.”