Media release – Eric Abetz, Minister for Business, Industry and Resources, 10 December 2024

Development guidelines for sardine fishery

A potential new and sustainable sardine fishery in Tasmania is one step closer with the release of guidelines to inform the development of a fishery management plan.

The release of these guidelines follows recent research by the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) which shows that there is a biomass of approximately 210,000 tonnes of sardines in the waters of Tasmania, predominately in the Bass Strait.

Minister for Business, Industry and Resources, Eric Abetz, said the Tasmanian Liberal Government was a strong supporter of the state’s job-rich seafood industry and welcomed the opportunity to strengthen the sector, further benefiting the economy.

“Tasmania is in a unique position to develop a sustainable sardine fishery that can maximise return for Tasmanian businesses and commercial fishers – creating jobs – while maintaining the right balance for recreational fishers,” Minister Abetz said.

“A sardine fishery in Tasmania would be based on purse seining methods and build on the learnings from other successful fisheries such as the South Australian fishery.

“The principles-based Guidelines focus on ecosystem sustainability, governance, maximising economic return and realising long-term benefits for Tasmanians,” Minister Abetz said.

Under the Guidelines released today, no trawling for sardines will be allowed.

“Development of this new fishery will involve extensive public consultation with commercial and recreational fishing bodies. Tasmanians will also be able to have their say with consultation expected to open in early 2025,” Minister Abetz said.

The Tasmanian Liberal Government has committed $250,000 to explore the development of a commercial sardine fishery as part of the 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future.

The Guidelines and further information on the fishery stock assessment of sardines, are available on the Fishing Tasmania website: https://fishing.tas.gov.au/sardines.

Media release – Dr Rosalie Woodruff MP, Greens Leader, 10 December 2024

Liberals’ Plan to Feed Wild Sardine Fishery to Salmon

The Liberals’ guidelines for a new sardine and other small fish fishery are just more greenwashing from a government hell-bent on plundering Tasmanian waters for salmon feed.

The proposed sardine fishery guidelines contain just general nothing statements, with no firm commitments on what the Liberals would actually do to make a new industry sustainable.

IMAS research shows the proximity of Tasmania’s aquaculture industry provides an additional important market for a sardine and small fish industry that other Australian sardine fisheries don’t have. In what world is it environmentally sustainable to deplete wild sardine and small fish populations to make salmon feed?

This is an industry that has polluted Tasmanian waters and pushed the Maugean skate to the brink of extinction. This weekend several hundred Tasmanians rose up to express outrage at the damage this industry has wrought on Tasmanian waters.

Massive-scale fishing operations have proven to have terrible effects on marine life, with other small and large fish, dolphins and seals ending up as bycatch.

Tasmanians have consistently been clear their marine waters are precious and must be protected. The Liberal Government should stop greenwashing a new fishing industry that, on the face of it, looks set to deplete an essential part of the marine food chain to feed farmed salmon.

Media release – Bob Brown Foundation, 11 December 2024

Sardine fishery would destroy the Bass Strait ecosystem

Yesterday, the Liberal government announced that they are pushing ahead with an attempt to start a commercial sardine fishery in Bass Strait, which would be an environmental crime.

Sardines are a forage fish, which all predators in the Bass Strait rely on to survive. Opening up a commercial fishery would severely impact the Bass Strait ecosystem.

“Sardines are critical to the marine ecosystem. They are a forage fish, upon which all sorts of marine animals and seabirds rely,” said Alistair Allan, Antarctic and Marine campaigner at Bob Brown Foundation.

“Catching these lynchpins of an ecosystem to feed the industrial factory farms of salmon aquaculture would be an environmental crime.”

“The salmon industry knows no bounds when it comes to destroying ecosystems, whether that be pushing animals to extinction, like the Maugean skate in Macquarie Harbour, or hoovering krill out of the Antarctic Ocean to feed their fish. Now they want to destroy the Bass Strait sardine population and all the animals that rely on them.”

“Ocean lovers all around Tasmania will be appalled by a large-scale industrial fishery in Bass Strait. Tasmanians remember the huge threat of a supertrawler entering our waters and saw it off. This proposed fishery should expect the same resistance,” said Alistair Allan.

Media release – Neighbours of Fish Farming, 29 November 2024

‘Champion of Tasmania’ champions plans to feed wild Bass Strait sardines to fatten farmed fish

Neighbours of Fish Farming president, Peter George, congratulates Labor’s Janie Finlay whose Facebook page boasts her as “Champion for Tasmania”.

“Ms Finlay’s promotion of a native wild sardine fishery in Bass Strait to feed non-native Atlantic salmon produced in industrial feedlots exceeds even her high bar in standing up for multinational salmon barons at the expense of Tasmanians.

“Her maths certainly stacks up to her track record: it takes at least 1.5kg of wild fish to produce 1kg of industrial salmon that is artificially dyed, fed antibiotics on a regular basis and contains chemicals banned elsewhere in the world.

“Perhaps the ‘champion for Tasmania’ is also a champion of impoverished nations from whence fishmeal is now plundered to nourish Atlantic salmon destined for the tables of rich nations, a courageous position to take when it means plundering Bass Strait instead.

“Her health priorities also match her track record: sardines are a wonderful source of Omega-3 with none of the saturated industrial fats found in industrial Atlantic salmon.

“The ‘Champion of Tasmania’ is the Labor member for Bass who refused to stand by the community of the Furneaux Islands when they stood up to the Liberal Government and saw off plans to allow the foreign-owned salmon industry on their coast.

“If the independent science shows that the sardines of Bass Strait can be harvested sustainably – a proposition yet to be confirmed – then Tasmanians might have another product of which they may be proud

“However, one can only hope Ms Finlay has apprised herself of the fact that the South Australian sardine fishery had its MSC sustainability accreditation revoked because of by-catch concerns, including whales and dolphins.”

See Janie Finlay, member for Bass, media release:

Sardine fishery report welcomed

Labor stands for safe, secure, well-paid jobs, and we welcome today’s FRDC report into the development of a Tasmanian Sardine Fishery.

The report found that there is significant potential to establish a substantial new fishery which is hugely promising news for the sector.

Tasmania’s seafood and aquaculture industry is already world-renowned, and for good reason.

The prospect of developing another opportunity for the sector in the form of a new sardine fishery is an exciting one.

When the science stacks up, Labor will always back in job creating opportunities like this one.