A world-first shareholder resolution spearheaded by environmental groups has failed to push Australian supermarket chain Woolworths to change its Atlantic salmon sourcing.
The resolution, led by online investment platform Sustainable Investment Exchange (SIX), called on the company to move away from sourcing Atlantic salmon from Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania. Environmental groups including Neighbors of Fish Farming (NOFF), Bob Brown Foundation, Environment Tasmania, and Living Oceans Society all criticized salmon farming in the harbor and claimed fish farms in the area were affecting the endangered Maugean skate.
The Maugean skate lives exclusively in Macquarie Harbour, and a recent study by the University of Tasmania found its population totals had dwindled over the past decade, putting the species at risk of extinction. A more recent study by the university found signs that the population has increased for the first time in nearly a decade, with “at least one recruitment event in the last 3 years,” but emphasized populations are still at very low levels.
NGOs have laid the blame for the skate’s population declines on the Atlantic salmon-farming industry. The groups claim impacts of salmon farming have been a major contributor to the decreased population.
“While the Woolworths board are making decisions from their boardroom, our communities are witnessing firsthand the destruction of our waterways and risk of extinction for the Maugean skate,” Jess Coughlan, who works with NOFF, said in a release.
The recent shareholder resolution was ...
