Even before marine farming of Atlantic salmon and rainbow trout commenced in Tasmania in 1985, the start up salmonid industry recognised that vaccination would be an important disease management tool. This led to the Tasmanian Government, in collaboration with the salmonid industry, developing and introducing Anguillvac-C in 1988 for the control of Vibriosis caused by Vibrio anguillarum and the first registered commercial aquaculture vaccine in Australia. With expansion and intensification of production, new disease threats emerged and by 1997 a second vaccine, Yersinivac-B was introduced followed in 2006 by AnguiMonas, the first bivalent vaccine for atypical Aeromonas salmonicida and Vibrio anguillarum.

While the early vaccines were killed, whole cell bacterins delivered by bath immersion, these now have largely given way to injectable formulations. The change in delivery method has opened the way for the development of formulations to protect against multiple pathogens, and current research is focussed on developing new vaccines against viral antigens that ultimately can be used in multivalent formulations.

The collaborative approach to vaccine development by industry and Government has enabled salmonid growers to be supplied with vaccines designed to meet variants of salmonid pathogens specific to Tasmania and achieve sustainable production of salmonids under challenging conditions.