Woolworths and Coles can Save the Skate!
PROBLEM
Woolworths and Coles: Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX:WOW) and Coles Group Ltd (ASX:COL) are the two biggest supermarket retailers in Australia.1 What they buy-and-sell shapes Australia, including the fate of the endangered Maugean Skate.
Macquarie Harbour: Macquarie Harbour is located on the west coast of Tasmania. These waters are the last home to the rare and unique Maugean Skate.2
Maugean Skate: The Maugean Skate is an animal as old as the dinosaurs. Only scientifically discovered in 1988, the skate has been pushed to the brink of extinction by industrial salmon farming in the harbour – with less than 1,000 individuals left.3
Salmon Farms: The salmon farming industry has been rapidly expanding over the last decade. Salmon farms are a "catastrophic" threat to the Skate as they make the Skate's home unlivable by driving down oxygen levels in the harbour.4
Low-Oxygen: For example, in 2019, half of the skate population suffocated due to critically low oxygen-deprived waters, caused primarily by industrial salmon farms.4
OPPORTUNITY
Stop Buying from Macquarie Harbour: Woolworths and Coles are the Tasmanian salmon industry’s most important customers. To save the skate, they must stop procuring farmed salmon and ocean trout from Macquarie Harbour farms.5
Beyond Certifications: The “responsibly sourced” certifications for salmon from Macquarie Harbour are subject to multiple complaints.6 Woolworths and Coles can look beyond these certifications to ensure their products don’t contribute to extinction.
Save the Skate: The campaign to Save the Skate has been a long term collaborative campaign. SIX is excited to join the push. See who we’re collaborating with below.
Activist Investing: SIX is launching Australia’s first share trading platform, to bring activist investors together, and change companies for the better. Sign up to find out how you can use shareholder power to call on Woolworths and Coles to Save the Skate!
TAKE ACTION NOW!
Don’t Own Shares in Woolworths and Coles?
Using the sign up form, pledge your interest to buy shares in these companies. We’ll let you know when we’ve launched our share trading platform, so you can buy these shares. Then we’ll keep you informed about how you can use your shareholder power.
Already Own Shares in Woolworths and Coles?
Using the sign up form, let us know if you already own shares in these companies via another share trading platform. We’ll keep you informed about how you can use your shareholder power.
Join the campaign!
We're working together on this push. Join us!
References
[1] Statista, Market share of grocery retailers in Australia in financial year 2023, December 2023, https://www.statista.com/statistics/994601/grocery-retailer-market-share-australia/
[2] Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, Macquarie Harbour last refuge for Maugean Skate, DNA survey finds, September 2022, https://www.imas.utas.edu.au/news/news-items/macquarie-harbour-last-refuge-for-maugean-skate,-dna-survey-finds
[3] Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment, and Water, Conservation Advice for Zearaja maugeana (Maugean skate), September 2023, http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/species/pubs/83504-conservation-advice-06092023.pdf
[4] Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, Interim report - Macquarie Harbour Maugean skate population status and monitoring, May 2023, https://imas.utas.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/1655611/Maugean-skate-2021-interim-report-FINAL.pdf
[5] Save the Skate, Tasmanian salmon has an extinction problem, https://savetheskate.com/
[6] The Gaurdian, Coles, Woolworths and Aldi ‘responsibly sourced’ salmon labels may be misleading, watchdog told, December 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/dec/05/coles-woolworths-aldi-responsibly-sourced-salmon-labels-misleading-watchdog-told
