Chilean salmon-farming firm Australis Seafoods is facing a new class-action lawsuit in the U.S.
Plaintiff Cathryn Harris has filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against Trapanada Seafarms, which is Australis’ U.S. subsidiary that sells Mama Bear, a frozen Atlantic salmon brand sourced from Chilean Patagonia.
According to the plaintiff – represented by fair food system advocacy organization FarmSTAND and law firms Pearson Warshaw and Jennings & Earley – Trapanada’s marketing claims that Mama Bear salmon is sustainably farmed and responsibly sourced represent misleading and deceptive marketing claims that violate consumer protection laws.
The products, the federal complaint asserts, actually come from “industrially farmed salmon [operations] whose production inflicts grave harms on pristine marine ecosystems and resulted in the destruction of marine life in Chile and around the world.”
According to the accusation, Australis employs unsustainable and irresponsible salmon-farming practices that include:
- Raising almost three-quarters of its salmon in legally protected nature reserves;
- Consistently violating its environmental permits through overproduction of salmon;
- Producing excess nutrient pollution creating anaerobic zones that result in fish die-offs;
- Using toxic pharmaceuticals and other substances that harm surrounding marine life;
- Failing to prevent non-native, carnivorous salmon from escaping their pens;
- Overcrowding salmon pens, leading to deteriorated fish welfare; and
- Sourcing salmon feed from forage fishing, which depletes ocean resources.
The lawsuit specifically names the following Trapanada products as engaging in misleading marketing: Mama Bear Atlantic Salmon Cubes, Mama Bear Atlantic Salmon Cubes Teriyaki, Mama Bear Atlantic Salmon Cubes Sweet & Seasoned, Mama Bear Atlantic Salmon Burgers, and Mama Bear Atlantic Salmon Portions.
Australis responded that it is preparing its defense.
“We have been informed of this situation, and we will present our perspective, relevant information, and defense in all appropriate forums to demonstrate that these accusations are baseless,” Australis told SeafoodSource in a statement.
The case has become the latest greenwashing lawsuit brought forth in the seafood sector, following closely behind a class-action lawsuit filed against retail giant Amazon in late July alleging that several seafood brands selling on the platform and associated retailers misleadingly use sustainability claims on several products bearing Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification.
The lawsuit is also not the only legal action Australis has faced recently.
Australis parent company Food Investment is owned by Chinese foodservice group Joyvio, which is locked up in a USD 1.22 billion (EUR 1.13 billion) lawsuit against businessman Isidoro Quiroga, the former owner of Australis, over its purchase of the firm in 2018 for USD 921 million (EUR 850 million).
Joyvio accused Quiroga and associates of withholding information regarding overproduction at the company’s farming centers during the sale’s due diligence phase, which led to alleged artificial inflation of the sale price. In 2022, Australis filed a self-report with Chile’s Superintendency of the Environment (SMA) after “detecting facts that could constitute infractions.”
Legal costs to date are estimated to run into the tens of millions of dollars, but recently, the Chilean Prosecutor’s Office decided it would not proceed with a criminal case against Quiroga.
The company, meanwhile, has said it restructured corporate governance and implemented different measures to eradicate bad practices – the first measure being to file a self-report with the SMA and end the regulatory breaches detected.
Subsequently, it implemented a program to cut production from 2023 to 2027 in order to compensate for the denounced overproduction.
Australis now said that after having cut production, it considers the adjustment cycle to be over, and today, the company “operates on an orderly and regular basis.” It provided guidance for harvest of 52,000 to 54,000 metric tons for the full year 2026 and said it expects positive operational results, aided by the management adjustments.
Elsewhere at Australis, the firm recently announced its general manager for the past three years, Andrés Lyon, has now been appointed CEO of Food Investment and has also joined the Australis Board of Directors.
Ignacio Bravo, who previously served as a farming manager, will step in to fill the general manager role.
“Both [appointments] respond to an adjustment in the senior management structure that more precisely separates the strategic management of the group in Chile from the operational management of the salmon farm,” Australis said in a release.
The company noted that in his new capacity, Lyon will lead the group's projects of strategic importance in Chile, including medium- and long-term investment and development plans, building partnerships, and maintaining the shareholder relationship.
In turn, Bravo – a civil engineer with more than 10 years of experience at Australis – will be responsible for the comprehensive management of Australis Seafoods, coordinating the operational and functional areas of the firm and holding responsibility for the execution of the firm’s Management and Development Plan.
