Giant underwater kelp forests, the endangered spotted handfish, the Macquarie Island

cormorant - these are just some of the species that only exist in Tasmania, the gateway to
Antarctica. 

Unfortunately just 1 per cent of Tasmania's marine environment is properly protected.

Industrial, feedlot salmon farming is one of the biggest threats to Tasmania's marine
values. 

The industry doesn't bother to capture its waste, which just settles on the sea floor and enters
the water column. The industry dumps at least 10.6 million kilograms of salmon poo in
our oceans each year, and Tasmania's current laws allow 100 per cent of marine life on
the seafloor under salmon pens to be killed. Unfortunately, the industry is expanding into
important conservation areas - like endangerd whale calving habitat on Tassie's stunning east
coast. 

YOU CAN HELP, by taking one moment to sign our petition to Australia's biggest
supermarkets. They are the biggest buyers and sellers of Tasmanian farmed salmon and their
buying policies have all the power to make salmon farmers clean up their mess. 

Thanks you so much for standing up for Tasmania's rare and endangered marine life. 
Tasmania (/tæzˈmeɪniə/;[8] abbreviated as TAS, nicknamed Tassie, Bruny Island
Tasmanian: Lutruwita; Palawa kani: Lutruwita) is an island state of Australia. It is located 240 km
(150 mi) to the south of the Australian mainland, separated by Bass Strait. The state
encompasses the main island of Tasmania, the 26th-largest island in the world, and
the surrounding 334 islands.[9] The state has a population of about 540,000 people as of
March 2020.[1] The state capital and largest city is Hobart, with around 40 percent of the
population living in the Greater Hobart area.[10]
Tasmania's area is 68,401 km2 (26,410 sq mi), of which the main island covers
64,519 km2 (24,911 sq mi).[11] It is promoted as a natural state, and protected areas of
Tasmania cover about 42% of its land area, which includes national parks and World Heritage
Sites.[12] Tasmania was the founding place of the first environmental political party in the world.[13]
The island is believed to have been occupied by indigenous peoples for 30,000 years before
British colonisation.[14] It is thought Aboriginal Tasmanians were separated from the mainland
Aboriginal groups about 11,700 years ago after the sea rose to form Bass Strait.[15] The Aboriginal
population is estimated to have been between 3,000 and 7,000 at the time of colonisation, but
was almost wiped out within 30 years by a combination of violent guerrilla conflict with settlers
known as the "Black War", intertribal conflict, and from the late 1820s, the spread of infectious
diseases to which they had no immunity. The conflict, which peaked between 1825 and 1831,
and led to more than three years of martial law, cost the lives of almost 1,100 Aboriginals and
settlers.
Tasmania's landmass of 68,401 km2 (26,410 sq mi) is located directly in the pathway of the
notorious "Roaring Forties" wind that encircles the globe. To its north, it is separated from
mainland Australia by Bass Strait. Tasmania is the only Australian state that is not located on the
Australian mainland. About 2,500 kilometres (1,600 mi) south of Tasmania island lies the George
V Coast of Antarctica. Depending on which borders of the oceans are used, the island can be
said to be either surrounded by the Southern Ocean, or to have the Pacific on its east and the
Indian to its west. Still other definitions of the ocean boundaries would have Tasmania with
the Great Australian Bight to the west, and the Tasman Sea to the east. It lies at similar latitudes
to the South Island of New Zealand, and parts of Patagonia in South America.
The most mountainous region is the Central Highlands area, which covers most of the central
western parts of the state. The Midlands located in the central east, is fairly flat, and is
predominantly used for agriculture, although farming activity is scattered throughout the state.
Tasmania's tallest mountain is Mount Ossa at 1,617 m (5,305 ft).[48] Much of Tasmania is still
densely forested, with the Southwest National Park and neighbouring areas holding some of the
last temperate rain forests in the Southern Hemisphere.

CLIMATE

Tasmania has a relatively cool temperate climate compared to the rest of Australia with four
distinct seasons.[56] Summer is from December to February when the average maximum sea
temperature is 21 °C (70 °F) and inland areas around Launceston reach 24 °C (75 °F). Other
inland areas are much cooler, with Liawenee, located on the Central Plateau, one of the coldest
places in Australia, ranging between 4 °C (39 °F) and 17 °C (63 °F) in February. Autumn is from
March to May, with mostly settled weather, as summer patterns gradually take on the shape of
winter patterns.[57] The winter months are from June to August, and are generally the wettest and
coldest months in the state, with most high lying areas receiving considerable snowfall. Winter
maximums are 12 °C (54 °F) on average along coastal areas and 3 °C (37 °F) on the central
plateau, as a result of a series of cold fronts from the Southern Ocean. Inland areas receive
regular freezes throughout the winter months.[58] Spring is from September to November, and is an
unsettled season of transition, where winter weather patterns begin to take the shape of summer
patterns, although snowfall is still common up until October. Spring is generally the windiest time
of the year with afternoon sea breezes starting to take effect on the coast.