Major supermarkets observing work to stop extinction in Tasmania

This comes as the Bob Brown Foundation has launched a campaign in Australia's two biggest cities to drawn attention to the endangered species plight with claims it has been pushed to the brink of extinction through industrialised salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour; the only place the skate exists in the world.

Following the campaign launch, The Examiner contacted two major supermarket chains to get their thoughts on how they responsibly source seafood and then sell it to their customers.

A Woolworths' submission to the Tasmanian government on the New Salmon Plan stated that it supported enhanced regulatory oversight of salmon farming through a newly independent EPA and the development of science-based aquaculture standards to better manage biodiversity and environmental and animal welfare impacts.

A small portion of Woolworth's annual salmon volume is sourced from Macquarie Harbour, where all three of Tasmania's main salmon producers operate

A Woolworths spokesperson said:

"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, our suppliers must also meet all relevant legislative and regulatory requirements.

"The industry, state and federal governments take issues raised about Macquarie Harbour seriously, and have invested in research to better understand the situation and protect the Maugean skate.

"We will continue to closely monitor developments."

A Coles 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 standards.

"We continue to review the Coles Responsibly Sourced Seafood Program to reduce potential environmental impacts linked to seafood production.

"We are aware of concerns regarding the population status of the Maugean skate in Macquarie Harbour and are working with relevant stakeholders to better understand the status of skate populations and the impact of salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour."

The Bob Brown Foundation (BBF) launched a new website, SalmonTasmania.com, to expose what it claims is "the nasty reality of Tasmanian salmon" and to raise awareness on the potential for a Maugean skate extinction.

Posters have been put up across Sydney and Melbourne, encouraging the public to learn the truth behind toxic farmed salmon from Tasmania.

According to BBF, the website and posters "show the public the true cost of Tasmanian salmon, from driving the Maugean skate to extinction in Macquarie Harbour to the shooting and bombing of seals across salmon farms in Tasmanian".

Antarctic and marine campaigner at Bob Brown Foundation, Alistair Allan, said industry body Salmon Tasmania was formed as a PR front for this industry to hide the truth of industrial salmon farming in Tasmania.

"Try as it might, it cannot create a social license for this industry, which the Australian public knows is destroying Tasmania's marine environment and driving a unique animal, the Maugean skate, to extinction," Mr Allan said.

"With thousands of posters going up in Sydney and Melbourne, more consumers can learn the truth behind this destructive industry. We know Australians don't want to buy products that are causing an extinction."

Hollywood actor and environmental advocate Leonardo DiCaprio has shown his support for the Maugean skate recently by reposting a video from Rewild to his almost 62 million Instagram followers.

Salmon Tasmania chief executive Luke Martin, said he made no apologies for the way Salmon Tasmania and its partners conduct their fish farming practices.

"We're certainly not reassessing our current business practice. We don't believe that there is a catastrophic impact on the Maugean skate," Mr Martin said.

"We've been pretty clear on that. And we've been very public about that. The industry's operations are regulated.

"So it's not us who decide the practices; it's the government and the regulator, the Environment Protection Authority (EPA).

"Any changes we make around our business practices, in terms of scale around responding to the skate, will be determined ultimately, by science and regulation."

Mr Martin claimed the jury was still out on what is causing the extinction of the Maugean skate.

"We certainly agree about the concern for the skate. We certainly don't deny the skate is under enormous pressure," Mr Martin said.

"Our view is that there are a number of factors for this, and it is related to low oxygen levels in the harbour. And, also we think overfishing gillnet fishing, but the issue around oxygen is what relates to us.

"We've been openly trying to work out how much that is a factor, and so are the regulators.

"So is the state government and the independent regulators, so there is a science process to this."