An Australian state has banned plastic fish-shaped soy sauce containers, reeling in a sushi lovers' favourite that is washing up in drains and beaches.

South Australia is the first state in the country to cast a net over the pervasive piscine plastic, known as shoyu-tai.

Invented in Japan in the 1950s, they have become a popular way for diners to season their takeaway sushi.

But the fishy delights are too small to be captured by sorting machinery and often end up in landfills or as fugitive plastic, South Australia's Environment Minister Susan Close said.

"Single-use plastics are often used for seconds but they last a lifetime in our natural environment," she said.

"The small size of the fish-shaped soy containers means they're easily dropped, blown away, or washed into drains, making

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