Industry on path to recovery

Since October last year, the seafood industry has faced a series of health troubles - with naturally occurring algal blooms on the East Coast resulting in fishing bans and product recalls, while ongoing sewage contamination issues at St Helens, Dunalley and Pitt Water have produced similar problems.

However, Primary Industries, Water and Environment Minister Bryan Green said Tasmania's strong reputation for quality produce would see the industry through the tough times. 

''Our seafood has a strong domestic and international brand and I'm confident it will carry the industry through these present challenges,'' Mr Green said.

Tourism Minister Scott Bacon also tipped the industry to rebuild, adding that the state's seafood would continue to attract visitors from the mainland and beyond. 

''Through our ongoing consumer research, we have seen no evidence at this stage to suggest the state's brand has been adversely affected by the issues affecting the seafood sector,'' he said. 

''In addition, fishing and water tourism businesses have not reported negative effects.''

Opposition fisheries spokesman Rene Hidding acknowledged that sections of the seafood industry had a rough summer, but he said Tasmanians could be confident that the brand would not suffer lasting damage.  

''While these events are not helpful, most seafood consumers understand that products harvested or grown in the wild can be subject to occasional biological problems,'' Mr Hidding said.

''The overall message must be that these problems are detected early, and reacted to strongly, through responsible actions that will see the market bounce back.''