This paper examines public conflict over the rapid growth of the Tasmanian salmon aquaculture industry and associated environmental and social impacts. By conducting a media analysis, triangulated with key stakeholder interviews, we find news media discourse was predominantly framed by environmental risk, expansion of the industry and the in/effectiveness of Government regulation. Environmental science and community interests were conflated within these themes, leading to a perceived lack of transparency and loss of trust in both environmental science information and regulation of environmental impacts. Government, salmon companies and science institutions were the most frequently mentioned stakeholder groups within news media, suggesting they had power to facilitate virtuous cycles – that is, shared goals and language. However, these stakeholder groups were portrayed to be outwardly opaque in their communications of, and lacking engagement in, decision-making processes. By revealing how science, societal values and decision-making were negotiated in news media through this conflict, we hope to contribute to understanding of how vicious and virtuous cycles are facilitated by various stakeholders and within media.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	fish farming, aquaculture, science, media communication
Research Division:	Language, Communication and Culture
Research Group:	Communication and media studies
Research Field:	Environmental communication
Objective Division:	Animal Production and Animal Primary Products
Objective Group:	Fisheries - aquaculture
Objective Field:	Aquaculture fin fish (excl. tuna)
UTAS Author:	Cullen-Knox, C (Ms Coco Cullen-Knox)
UTAS Author:	Fleming, A (Dr Aysha Fleming)
UTAS Author:	Lester, L (Professor Libby Lester)
UTAS Author:	Ogier, E (Dr Emily Ogier)
ID Code:	142628
Year Published:	2021
Funding Support:	Australian Research Council (DP150103454)
Deposited By:	Media
Deposited On:	2021-02-02
Last Modified:	2021-07-15
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