Tasmanian anti-salmon conservationists have enlisted the help of global shareholder activists to help pressure supermarkets Woolworths and Coles into removing salmon products sourced from Macquarie Harbour farms from their shelves.
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Both Neighbours of Fish Farms (NOFF) and the Bob Brown Foundation claim that aquaculture on the harbour is responsible for the drastic fall in numbers of endangered Maugean skate in the area, and have called for the fish pens to be removed immediately.
Both activist organisations have joined an anti-salmon farming campaign led by investment activists Sustainable Investment Exchange (SIX).
SIX co-founder Adam Verwey said the group would join other global investor activists in moving resolutions at company shareholder meetings, with the aim of pressuring Coles' and Woolworths' management into action.
"All shareholders and stakeholders should have the ability to hold companies accountable, not just billionaires and big institutions," he said.
Another activist group participating in the salmon campaign was US-based NGO Eko.
"We want to see Australia's biggest supermarkets clean up their salmon supply," said Eko campaigner Anisha Humphreys.
A spokesperson for Coles said the company was aware of concerns regarding the population status of the Maugean skate.
"We continue to review the Coles' Responsibly Sourced Seafood Program to reduce potential environmental impacts linked to seafood production," the spokesperson said.
"In order to meet the requirements of the Coles Responsibly Sourced Seafood Program, all Own- Brand farmed salmon must be certified by independent third-party certification standards."
The spokesperson did not provide information on whether other salmon products are required to meet third-party certification to meet the Coles Responsibly Sourced Seafood Program.
A Woolworths spokesperson likewise said the company had "stringent protocols" to verify its responsibly sourced product claims.
""Our Seafood Sourcing Policy requires all Woolworths branded seafood to be third-party certified or independently verified as ecologically responsible.
"In addition to our Policy, all our suppliers must also meet all relevant legislative and regulatory requirements.
It was noted that only a small proportion of Woolworth's salmon volumes is sourced from the harbour.
Salmon industry lobbyists Salmon Tasmania declined to comment.
NOFF president Peter George said his organisation had been talking to Woolworths and Coles for two years about removing Macquarie Harbour salmon from their shelves.
"Nothing has changed at all," he said.
"I suspect that they talk to us because they're ticking boxes that say 'look, we've had community consultation.'"
He accused both companies of "green washing" - when companies make false or exaggerated claims about the ecological impact of their products or practices.
"The supermarkets claim to be green, Sustainable whilst they sell salmon sourced from Macquarie Harbour," Mr George said.
"We need to bring pressure on the supermarkets to ensure they are living up to their sustainable claims and tenets, rather than green washing their products.
"It's quite clear to us that their interest is in their bottom-line profits."
He said the latest move to join with a global campaign by investment activists was part of moving NOFF's activism to the mainland, to target the salmon industry's core consumers.
