Total Allowable Catch
Total Allowable Catch is the total amount of abalone that can be taken from Tasmanian waters in a calendar year.
How TAC is set
It is determined annually by the Minister, based on advice from the Abalone Fishery Core Group.
The Abalone Fishery Core Group considers Catch Per Unit Effort in each block when making recommendations for the following year.
Stock assessment
TAC setting is guided by stock assessment undertaken by IMAS. The Stock Assessment Report for each year is released in the first half of the following year.
An allowable catch is set for each zone in the fishery. Together, these zone allocations make up the Total Allowable Catch.
Quota units
Each of the 3,500 quota units provides access to the same amount of abalone per unit in each zone and across the fishery as a whole.
The yearly TAC is divided by 3,500 to determine the amount attached to each quota unit for that year.
2026 TAC
The TAC for 2026 is listed on the current website as 731.5 tonnes, allocated as follows.
| Zone | Allocation (Tonnes) | Allocation per unit (kg) |
|---|---|---|
| Bass Strait | 87.5 | 25 |
| Eastern | 203.0 | 58 |
| Northern | 56.0 | 16 |
| Western | 287.0 | 82 |
| Greenlip | 98 | 28 |
| Total | 731.5 | 209 |
Explore fishery management, zones and blocks, and the harvest strategy.
