Anthony Albanese under pressure on salmon farming from both conservationists and industry

Anthony Albanese last week wrote to salmon companies saying the government would ensure there were ‘appropriate environmental laws’ to ‘continue sustainable salmon farming’. Photograph: Jeremy Ng/AAP

Anthony Albanese is caught in a pincer movement over a pre-election pledge that he will protect salmon farming in Tasmania’s Macquarie Harbour, with conservationists and industry leaders both urging him to rethink the commitment.

The future of salmon farming in the harbour on the state’s west coast has become a sharp political issue centred on whether it can coexist with the endangered Maugean skate, an endemic ray-like species that has survived since the age of the dinosaurs.