The the growth of farmed salmon in Macquarie Harbour, reduced dissolved oxygen levels and the declining population of the Maugean Skate in the harbour is clear, with destocking of salmon farms below levels permitted by government licenses deemed an urgent priority to substantially improve and sustain oxygen levels.

Macquarie Harbour farmed salmon is a small part of the overall Tasmanian salmon industry (approximate 12% of total production). We believe Macquarie Harbour salmon accounts for a small percentage of all Coles Own Brand farmed salmon sold in Coles stores, which constitutes a small part of the company’s overall $40.5 billion AUD sales revenue. The level of reputational risk the company exposes itself to from continuing to sell this product is not warranted.

Coles has stated that as part of its ‘Tasmanian Salmon Plan’ it is reviewing its Coles Own Brand salmon sourcing strategy to better understand near, medium, and long-term options for diversification. We encourage Coles not to rely on government intervention to address this issue and to instead proactively reduce its exposure and contribution to a potential extinction event.