Today, a coalition of 38 organisations have sent an open letter to Woolworths and Coles urging them to save the Maugean skate from extinction and to stop greenwashing an extinction event.
The open letter has been coordinated by shareholder activist group SIX and signed by a coalition of leading investment firms, ethical advicegroups, Foundations, NGOs, and Tasmanian restaurants and businesses.
It has now been a year since scientists warned that the Maugean skate is on the brink of extinction. This ancient animal exists only in Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania, where salmon farming has severely reduced oxygen levels in the water, leading to a 47% loss in the Maugean skate population between 2014 and 2021.
Woolworths and Coles are the major buyers of Macquarie Harbour salmon and trout, accounting for about 10% of Woolworths' and Coles' salmon supply. The open letter calls on the two companies to do their due diligence and stop sourcing salmon from Macquarie Harbour.
The 38 organisations that have signed the open letter include ethical investing companies representing more than $27 Billion in FUM and over 520,000 investors.
SIX co-founder and CEO Adam Verwey said “These 38 organisations join almost 1000 retail investors who have committed to use a shareholding in Woolworths and Coles to demand action. If we can’t get action from these companies, then we intend to propose a shareholder resolution at the company AGMs later this year. I think it’s possible we could have as many as 10,000 investors pledge their shares in support of saving the skate by the time we get to the Woolworths' and Coles' AGM.”
Further, Verwey said “Woolworths and Coles are putting their ESG credentials at risk. They have only been admitted in to many ethical investment portfolios in the last couple of years after offloading most of their gambling assets. They now risk swiftly dropping back out of these portfolios as a result of not taking action to stop an extinction event. Ethical investors are questioning how seriously Woolworths and Coles are taking environmental and nature-based risks.”
“To make matters worse, Woolworths and Coles are sticking ‘sustainably sourced’ labels on salmon from Macquarie Harbour. There’s nothing sustainable about an extinction event. Woolworths and Coles are cherry-picking dodgy certifications to greenwash the potential extinction of the Maugean skate”, Verwey said.
Australia’s leading seafood certifier, the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), states that none of the 11 salmon farming sites in Macquarie Harbour complies with their standards. Instead, Woolworths and Coles are using the less reputable BAP and GGN, who are facing calls from more than 80 global conservation groups to decertify Macquarie Harbour salmon.
The open letter can be viewed at https://www.six-invest.com.au/spread-the-word/sign-the-open-letter-to-woolworths-and-coles-to-save-the-skate
Signatories to the Open Letter
Ethical investment groups: Australian Ethical Investment; Future Group (inc Future Super); Northstar Impact; Ethinvest; Ethical Investment Advisers; Ethical Choice Investments; Ethical Invest Group; Ethical Investment Funds Management; Ethical Investment Services; Novo Wealth; TasEthical; and SIX.
Foundations and Philanthropic organisations: Reichstein Foundation; Tripple; Anderson Pender Foundation; Futuru; Madden Sainsbury Foundation; Kimberley Foundation.
NGOs: Australian Marine Conservation Society; Environment Tasmania; Eko; Humane Society International; Keep Our Coast Clean; Killora Community Association; Living Oceans Society; Neighbours of Fish Farming; Surfrider Foundation Australia; Surfrider Foundation Tasmania; Tasman Peninsula Marine Protection; Tasmanian Alliance for Marine Protection; Tasmanian Conservation Trust; The Australia Institute; The Waterways Network.
Tasmanian chefs, restaurants and businesses: Annaliese Gregory; Red Parka; The Agrarian Kitchen; Van Bone Restaurant; Whole Food Cooking.
SIX has not yet received a response from Woolworths and Coles about the open letter. SIX has requested meetings with both companies.
