Aquaculture planning and coastal management in Tasmania

The development of a substantial marine aquaculture industry in the State of Tasmania, Australia, has led to considerable resource use conflict during the past decade. In response to this conflict the Tasmanian government has undertaken a number of planning exercises for popular waterways to accommodate future expansion of aquaculture. At the same time, the government has been developing a new system for integrated coastal management and is moving towards introducing a state-wide coastal policy as part of its resource management and planning reforms. This paper traces the development of aquaculture planning and coastal management in the State and addresses a number of issues in relation to the resulting institutional arrangements.