Fisheries scientists have investigated the Australian Sardine (Sardinops sagax) stock in Tasmanian and Bass Strait waters and confirmed it is large enough to support a sustainable commercial fishery in Tasmania.
The new study was conducted by the University of Tasmania’s Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) to inform the development of a local fishery and make recommendations for ensuring its sustainability.
The study was funded by the Tasmanian Government and the Australian Government’s Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC).
“Australian Sardine are highly nutritious and becoming increasingly popular in Australia,” said IMAS fisheries researcher and lead author, Dr Tim Ward.
“They are a sustainable and renewable source of protein.”
The Australian Sardine population extends from Nigaloo in Western Australia to Mackay in Queensland and includes Bass Strait and the east coast of Tasmania.
“We were asked to do a scientific assessment of the sardine stock that occurs off Tasmania, Victoria and southern New South Wales,” Dr Ward said.
“We used a technique called the daily egg production method (DEPM) which has been successfully applied to Sardine off South Australia for almost 30 years.”
The survey was conducted during December 2023 and January 2024 and covered a total area of almost 150,000 square kilometres.
The aim was to estimate the spawning biomass of sardines (measured in tonnes) at the time of the study in this important ecological community.
“We estimated that the spawning biomass of the south-eastern sardine stock was around 200,000 tonnes, with the highest densities in Bass Strait and off the coast of western Victoria,” Dr Ward said.
“This study confirmed that there is a sizeable population of Australian Sardine in Tasmanian and Bass Strait waters that could sustain a local commercial fishery.”
The study recommends a precautionary approach to developing the resource, with ongoing research needed to fully understand the annual and seasonal movements of sardines, and how their abundance may vary over time.
“Tasmania is in the fortunate position of being able to learn from the large commercial sardine fishery that has operated successfully and sustainably off South Australia for over three decades," Dr Ward said.
"The scientific knowledge and management approaches that have developed there can be applied directly in our local fishery.”
Visit Fishing Tasmania’s Sardine stock assessment webpage to find out more about the next steps in developing a fishery.
Cover image: Australian Sardine
(Sardinops sagax). Photo: Tim Ward