For years, Australian retail chain Woolworths has faced backlash for sourcing salmon from aquaculture operations in the Macquarie Harbor, which is located in Tasmania and is home to the endemic and endangered Maugean skate.
Environmental organizations have argued that salmon farming contributes to low oxygen levels in the harbor, placing the skate, which has an estimated 40 to 120 mature adults left in the wild, at risk of imminent extinction.
In its latest attempt to force the chain to change its sourcing policies, ethical share trading platform Sustainable Investment Exchange (SIX) has called on investors to vote against the reelection of Woolworths Chair Scott Perkins.
In a statement that will be distributed to shareholders before the chain’s annual general meeting in late October, SIX, along with the support of 230 shareholders, claimed that under Perkins’ leadership, Woolworths has “ignored shareholder voice on material concerns expressed through record high support for resolutions; shown poor judgment by initiating communications with Woolworths’ largest competitor, Coles; and overseen a period where the reputation of Woolworths as a corporation has fallen when research suggests nearly one-third of all shareholder value is attributed to reputation.”
“It’s disappointing that a year on from the last high shareholder vote, Woolworths has failed to take any meaningful action to sourcing extinction salmon,” SIX CEO and Co-Founder Adam Verwey said in a release. “If the board won’t respond to overwhelming shareholder concerns, we have no choice but to vote against their leadership. When we’ve raised this issue with the investment community, they’ve raised other concerns about Woolworths leadership and governance. Ignoring large shareholder votes on a potential extinction is now just one part of the protest against Scott Perkins’ reelection as chair.”
Woolworths has faced multiple shareholder resolutions in recent years related to the Maugean skate, all of which have been voted down.
Other nationwide efforts aimed at protecting the endangered species have included Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) complaints against grocers, an open letter asking Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to abandon commitments to the area’s aquaculture sector, and a public request to the nation’s minister for the environment and water to uplist the skate from endangered to critically endangered, all of which have been largely unsuccessful at scaling back salmon farming in the area.
In early August, Australian politicians also called on United Nations specialized agency UNESCO to intervene over threats to the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA), which includes one-third of Macquarie Harbor.
"With El Niño conditions expected to bring warmer waters to Macquarie Harbor this summer, the endangered Maugean skate faces even greater pressure,” Environment Tasmania Senior Campaigner Jess Coughlan said in a release.
