Environmental advocates are raising alarms over what they see as a potential government plan to establish a sardine fishery in Tasmania that could ultimately support the controversial salmon farming industry.
Recently obtained Right To Information documents have revealed email communications between Industry Minister Eric Abetz and salmon company Tassal last year in relation to opportunities for a sardine fishery.
In the documents, Tassal CEO Mark Ryan can be seen asking Minister Abetz as to how the salmon company could be involved in the establishment of the project.
“I trust that we can get a process in place that allows the development of the fishery,” he wrote.
The documents show Ryan expressing frustration with previous delays, saying he had been promised the same process in 2022 and 2023 with the fishery to commence in late 2023, but saw little progress.
Environment Tasmania say the correspondence “very clearly” shows that sardines are an interest to the salmon industry for feed.
They point to a 2023 Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies report which highlighted that salmon operators could benefit from such a fishery.
“The absence of a large-scale small pelagic fishery off Tasmania limits the opportunity for the salmon industry to obtain the tens of thousands of tonnes of forage fish that it needs annually from a sustainable local source,” said Rebecca Howarth, Senior Marine Campaigner at Environment Tasmania.
“There is no way the community will support an industrial-scale sardine fishery of this scale with the sardines headed for salmon feed, it has no social license whatsoever.”
The Greens have called for the state government to explicitly rule out using sardines to support salmon farming.
“To prop up and to feed the salmon industry with its myriad of issues would be a travesty,” said Deputy Greens Leader Vica Bayley.
Minister Abetz acknowledged that a sustainably managed fishery would likely produce various products, including fish food.
He insists that strict policies and procedures would be implemented if the project proceeds.
“Tasmanians can be confident that, in developing any potential new fishery, best practices will be put in place, together with rigorous monitoring,” Abetz said.
The state government announced it was exploring the development of a sardine fishery in the Bass Strait in November 2024.
Minister Abetz at the time described the opportunity as “exciting and rare” and said it has the potential to create new opportunities for local fishers.
“Research has been underway to assess the full extent of sardine stocks in Bass Strait.”
