The salmon-farming industry in Tasmania, Australia, is facing increasing opposition to its operations in Macquarie Harbour, with an activist shareholder activism campaign pushing major retailers to stop buying Tasmanian salmon.
Environmental groups blame the industry for the decline of the endangered Maugean skate, a type of ray. The Maugean skate is endemic to the harbor, and scientists found the population of the species has dropped by 50 percent in the past seven years. Scientists say it could be one bad weather event away from extinction.
In response to the criticism, the Tasmanian government created a new Skate Conservation Action Plan, which the Tasmanian Department of Natural Resource and Environment said is designed to set out objections and actions designed to support recovery of the Maugean skate in a way that complements existing conservation-planning documents for the species.
Environmentalist group Neighbors of Fish Farming (NOFF), however, claimed the plan is more oriented around “protecting the interests of multinational Atlantic salmon companies” than protecting the skate.
“The misnamed ‘Conservation Action Plan’ is essentially a proposal to monitor the Maugean skate into extinction while protecting the profits of foreign-owned companies and propping up unsustainable jobs for a short while longer,” NOFF Campaigner Jess Coughlan said.
Just under a month after the launch of the plan, the Sustainable Investment Exchange (SIX) launched a new platform to “combine activism with investing.” Its “Save the Skate!” campaign is devoted to ...
Image courtesy of the Sustainable Investment Exchange
