The Tasmanian government is planning an enormous sardine industry on the coast of Tasmania and this has now been confirmed in RTI documents obtained by the ABC this Easter weekend as a venture that the salmon industry encouraged and acknowledged as “important for Tasmania” and demanded a thorough timeline for the development of the fishery.

Since the community has shown disdain for the likelihood of the 30,000 tonne per annum, proposed sardine industry heading for salmon feed, the government and industry representatives have backtracked, insisting the sardines will end on the plates of Australians. This is now blown out of the water by explosive revelations in these documents, showing just how deep the collusion runs between the salmon industry and the Tasmanian government.

The released documents show very clearly that the sardines are indeed an interest to the salmon industry for feed and always have been, corroborated in the 2023 IMAS report on the same topic: “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".

“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.” says Rebecca Howarth, Senior Marine Campaigner, Environment Tasmania.

“Sardines are the lifeblood of Tasmania’s marine ecosystem, feeding seabirds, penguins, and prized recreational fish like tuna and kingfish. Industrial-scale fishing for these baitfish threatens to disrupt this delicate balance, with devastating consequences for marine life and local communities.”