Political Storm Brews Over Tasmania's Fishing Future

The future of ‘recreational’ and commercial fishing in Tasmania has erupted into a heated political debate over proposed changes to fisheries management, the role of industrial salmon farming and the very definition of sustainable practices.

Peter George (independent candidate, Franklin), has strongly refuted negative claims made about his recreational fisheries policy, asserting it is unequivocally supportive of both recreational and commercial fishing.

Minister for Resources Abetz (Liberal, Franklin) criticised George: “He wants you to log every single thing that lands on the hook, in the pot or the dive bag. And even log everything that goes back in the sea! Mr George is as Green as a sea sick sailor.”

Conservation organisation Friends of the Bays slammed angling body TARFish for joining in the attack on George.

Received statements on the issue are reproduced below.

Political Storm Brews Over Tasmania's Fishing Future 8

Media Release – Peter George, Independent Candidate for Franklin, 28 June 2025

RECREATIONAL FISHERIES POLICY

Our coasts and coastal waters are soul places for Tasmanians.

For almost one third of Tasmanians (29.3%) wetting a line is a popular lifestyle choice. Per head of population, more of us fish than in any other state of Australia.

Our coastal waters, habitat diversity and ecosystems are part of the common wealth of publicly owned resources for Tasmanians.

But they’re under threat. We live in a time of immense change. Warming waters, ocean acidification, pollution and human-induced pressures from commercial fishing and seismic testing add stress to fish populations.

In recent years, media have reported a global 90% reduction in some fish stocks. As industrial salmon farming ring worms its way around Tasmania, bio disasters are occurring in Macquarie Harbour and the southeast.

For years, Australian fisheries management planning has enabled harvesting down to just 20% of the original biomass. That reveals a systemic intention to reduce fish stocks by 80% and in practice even this limit is often bypassed.

Recreational fishers are affected by all this – a range of species including sand flathead, southern rock lobster, calamari, striped trumpeter, garfish and more are subject to rule changes that either limit take home catch or introduce protection measures such as seasonal closures, area restrictions and changing size limits.

Now plans are being discussed to open up the Tasmanian sardine fishery. The government has already intimated much of it might be destined for salmon feed with an unknown impact on coastal fish stocks. It’s an outlook that has appalled both recreational and commercial fishers – including those who want to harvest sardines sustainably for human consumption.

While all this happens, representation for recreational fishers does not reflect the influence justified by the effort and expenditure of the community.

Associated with fisheries management is access to our pristine coastal waters with increasing frustration and concern over the impact of the foreign-owned salmon industry.

If elected in the seat of Franklin, I will use my influence to promote a policy that ensures sustainable management of our commercial and recreational fisheries so we can hand it to future generations healthy and thriving.

I will fight to:

• Set commercial fishing limits to ensure sustainability based on independent science.

• Set a biomass limit at or above 50% that significantly boosts fishery productivity and reduces the risks that low biomass poses to species’ reproductive success.

• Raise the threshold for management action to a more reasonable 40% or higher.

• Work with representative fishers organisations to ensure a stronger and democratic voice for recreational fishers.

• Ensure the transition of the salmon industry out of Tasmania’s vulnerable coastal waterways, while ensuring they pay full value for the waters they use and damage done to our inland and coastal waterways.

• Ensure independent scientific research drives fisheries management by having stronger independence and funding provided to ensure scientific advice is accurate and provided without bias or complication associated with funding streams or project outcome influence.

• Ensure TOTAL transparency of performance with real time reporting of catch including discards and biomass levels of all commercial and recreationally important species.

Peter George Supporting Fishing in Tasmania

In attacking Peter George’s recreational ﬁsheries position, Eric Abetz appears to be ﬁshing for any fabrication in an eﬀort to save his own seat.

Mr George’s policy position was crafted in conjunction with two of Tasmania’s leading recreational ﬁshers, including John Stanﬁeld, who leads a group of more than 6,000 Tasmanians dedicated to “wetting a line”.

Mr George’s published position is strongly in support of both recreational and commercial ﬁshing.

As a minister, Mr Abetz is strongly pushing expansion of industrial salmon farming in Storm Bay – by far the greatest threat to marine life and ﬁshing in state waters.

In attacking me, he’s is doing the work of the salmon barons who have both Labor and Liberal Parties in their pockets and are terriﬁed of Independents like me being elected.

“I have no idea of where Mr Abetz is getting his information from but it’s simply false. Full stop.

“As John Stanﬁeld and thousands of recreational ﬁshers will tell you, a decade of the Liberal government has actually been a disaster for recreational ﬁshers, including swingeing cuts in bag limits and the abolition of eﬀective ﬁshing advisory bodies.

ON PERSONAL ATTACKS:

I regret having to engage with Mr Abetz at what might seem a personal level.

“Coincidentally I was at a lunch yesterday with some Liberal oﬃcials in the Franklin electorate yesterday where we agreed on the need to engage in civil debate rather than the personal attacks that have become a hallmark of Tasmanian politics.

If we can lift the standards or political behaviour, we’ll repair Tasmanians’ faith in our parliamentarians.

Political Storm Brews Over Tasmania's Fishing Future 9

Media Release – Eric Abetz, Minister for Business, Industry and Resources, 28 June 2025

George to fillet fishing for all Tasmanians

Peter George has revealed he is dead set on ending one of Tasmanians favourite pastimes, wetting a line.

He wants to lock up our waters for two generations. That’s no more potting crays, no more chasing kingies, no more chipping abalone.

He wants you to log every single thing that lands on the hook, in the pot or the dive bag. And even log everything that goes back in the sea! Mr George is as Green as a sea sick sailor.

Fishing is a way of life in Tasmania – whether that’s the 100,000 recreational fishers or our world-class commercial fisheries – it’s who we are. Mr George is hellbent on ending jobs and the Tasmanian way of life.

We have a commercial seafood sector worth over $1.5 billion, and a recreational fishing sector worth $270 million annually. Both of which are sustainably managed.

The only way Labor can govern is with the Greens and independents. That means more deals, more delays, more politics with anti-Tasmanian candidates like Peter George.

Media Release – Ian Sale, Spokesperson for Friends of the Bays, 29 June 2025

Friends of the Bays are disappointed by the ill-informed criticism made by the CEO of TARfish Jane Gallichan, and one of their Board members Dr Jeremy Lyle. If there was ever a body that should be concerned by the increasing takeover of our waters by the salmon industry it would be one representing recreational fishers. TARfish claims to be an independent peak body for them, but in our opinion it is a conflicted organisation that adopts a tame role in relation to the salmon industry.

The TARFish CEO Ms Gallichan was, before her current role, in a senior corporate position with Huon Aquaculture for several years. She would seem on that basis alone to be a surprising choice to be chosen for TARFish’s CEO role. The chair of TARFish is Paul Lennon, a former Labor Premier, known to be close to Dean Winter. Mr Winter is a very strong supporter of Tassal and the salmon industry in general.

Friends of the Bays are deeply suspicious of the decision of TARFish to become involved in political debate and, with the willing assistance of Eric Abetz, level bizarre claims against Peter George. TARFish claims to be apolitical, but then comes out swinging during an election campaign.

The terms ‘dirty tricks’ and ‘smear’ come to mind.

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