Industry Structure
Tasmania’s abalone industry includes divers, FLAD owners, quota unit holders, processors, brokers, exporters and supporting industries and services.
TACL provides a forum for communication across the commercial wild abalone industry and supports information sharing between key stakeholder groups.
Divers
Every diver must hold an FLP, or Fishing Licence Personal. A diver contracts with a quota unit holder to catch abalone on that quota and supply it to a processor.
FLAD owners
There are 121 Fishing Licence Abalone Diver entitlements, known as FLADs, owned by 95 separate persons. A FLAD owner either dives or contracts a diver to dive on that FLAD.
Quota unit holders
A quota unit holder owns a portion of the fishery. Quota unit holders may be individuals or legal entities, such as family trusts or super funds.
Supporting industries
The industry also includes exporters and supporting industries and services connected with Tasmania’s abalone sector.
Divers
A diver contracts with a quota unit holder to catch abalone on that quota and supply it to a processor. A diver may be a licence holder, or may contract to dive for a dive licence holder.
TACL works with divers with safety at the centre of decision making. The Council supports annual health checks, safe work practices and awareness of legislative requirements through the Diver Guide.
Quota unit holders
There are 3,500 quota units. Of these, 3,460 are held by quota unit holders and 40 are owned by the State Government.
The annual Total Allowable Catch is divided across quota units. As the TAC changes, the amount attached to each quota unit is amended each year.
Industry background
Tasmania’s abalone industry is the world’s largest abalone resource, supplying more than 25% of total annual global production of wild-caught product.
It is Tasmania’s most valuable wild-harvested marine resource and one of the state’s largest export earners.
Industry statistics
Current industry statistics should be kept live and updated as figures change. Current figures include:
121
FLADs, including inactive and inoperative licences
3,500
Quota units
40
Quota units leased from government
16
Active processors, according to the May 2026 membership statistics document
Industry overview
The abalone industry includes divers, quota unit holders, processors, and supporting industries and services.
This diagram illustrates the overlapping participation across the three key industry groups.
Members (486)
This Venn diagram represents the 486 current industry members and how they participate across one or more of the three key groups.
Explore TACL’s purpose, history, industry structure, processors and brokers.
