An ad from Salmon Tasmania that declares “truth is the most important thing” has been found by Ad Standards to feature misleading environmental claims.
The commercial purports to prove, with the use of footage captured by underwater robotics, that its fishing pens do not disturb the underwater environment.
Kelsey Treloar, the manager of a Tasmanian underwater robotics company, says in the ad: “Truth is the most important thing to me. Getting the real information, seeing it for yourself. ‘What’s under the cages?’ is a question I get asked all the time. Our whole aim is to deliver indisputable facts. Our tech is used for environmental surveys and constantly monitoring the sea floor, mainly for the salmon industry. We’re directly underneath the pen.”
Over footage of marine creatures, Treloar continues: “People are under the perception that underneath the pens is just a wasteland of sludge. It’s not that at all. We’ve seen every inch of these farms, above and below the water. No build up of any biomass, thriving marine environment. Yes, it’s definitely not what the critics say it is. The idea that the salmon industry isn’t transparent is frustrating.”
A 90-second version of the commercial ran in cinemas across Tasmania and on 7Plus, 9Now and SBS On Demand, while a 15-second version was promoted on Meta and Google platforms. Both versions were found in breach of the AANA Code of Ethics for creating an overall impression that would likely mislead the target customer.
The ad...
An ad from Salmon Tasmania that declares “truth is the most important thing” has been found by Ad Standards to feature misleading environmental claims. The commercial purports to prove, with the u...