A small group of citizens will gather at Tassal’s flagship Tasmanian store today to raise concerns about Tassal’s ‘Sustainable Seafood Day’ Promotions. Tassal is the largest salmon producer in Australia. March 31st, 2017 is International Sustainable Seafood Day. Tassal is promoting its ‘Recipe for Sustainable Salmon’, despite continuing to operate over a marine dead zone in Macquarie Harbour which has spread into the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.
Where: Friday 31st March, 2017, 12.15pm.
When: Tassal Store in Salamanca Square, Hobart.
Tassal’s Sustainable Seafood Day promotions come just a day after Australia’s largest ethical investment house, Australian Ethical Investments, announced they have sold their holdings in Tassal due to concerns the company’s practices are unsustainable.
Environment Tasmania has used the format of Tassal’s ‘Recipe for Sustainable Salmon’ to produce its own take on the Tassal promotion, based on the facts about Tassal’s harmful industrial farming practices.
“We can’t allow Tassal to promote itself as sustainable while operating over a marine dead zone that has spread into a World Heritage Area,” said Laura Kelly, Environment Tasmania. “Tassal’s promotions are misleading for consumers and show there has been no accountability for the damage they have caused to Tasmania’s coastal environment and World Heritage values.”
“Yesterday’s decision by Australian Ethical Investments to divest from Tassal provides a clear warning to Tassal that they need to stop falsely marketing their salmon as sustainable,” Ms Kelly said.
Australian Ethical cited two primary concerns with Tassal’s practices – concerns around the sustainability of the fish feed used and concerns around the sustainability of the companies practices in Macquarie Harbour.
Tassal largest lease in Macquarie Harbour is what fish farming experts refer to as a ‘dead zone’ due to deadly drops in oxygen levels. Huon Aquaculture, the second largest salmon producer in Australia, recently revealed that this dead zone has spread from Tassal’s lease into the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.
A copy of Tassal’s Sustainable Seafood Day promotion, which has featured in paid advertisements, is pasted below and can be found here: https://www.tassalsustainability.com/#sustainable-seafood-day-1
The materials Environment Tasmania’s volunteers will be distributing to the public today can be downloaded here …
Sustainable_Salmon_Fact_Sheet.pdf
Laura Kelly Strategy Director Environment Tasmania
