While the supermarket chain has quietly taken out the term “responsibly sourced” from their branded Tasmanian Salmon, environmental organizations believe the company needs to take further action by ending sales of the product entirely.
The Bob Brown Foundation is urging Coles and Woolworths to stop sourcing their salmon from Macquarie Harbour in Tasmania, which is the only remaining habitat of the critically endangered Maugean skate.
A representative from the Bob Brown Foundation, it’s beyond perplexing that the supermarket giants have not stopped sourcing the product yet, seeing as how just 9% of Tasmanian salmon comes from Macquarie Harbour.
He said that continuing the sale of the product was simply “mind boggling,” adding that there is plenty of proof that fish farms are killing off the skate.
Coles said it had changed its salmon packaging more than a year ago, removing the “responsibly sourced” label after an internal review.
The company’s own brand salmon was still meeting its internal sourcing standards, which it said aligned with international benchmarks, a spokesperson said.
The supermarket also said it had cut back on its sourcing from the area, acknowledging what it called the “ongoing discussion within the scientific and industry communities” about the effects of aquaculture in Macquarie Harbour.
The conservation advice from the federal government has also shown that salmon farming poses a “very high risk” to dissolved oxygen levels in the harbour where the skate lives.
Pressure building for the two biggest Australian supermarkets
Environmental protests have now taken second place behind other issues in relation to the two biggest Australian supermarket chains.
At the Woolworths AGM in late 2025, 34% of all shareholders voted on behalf of resolutions that would see the removal of their participation in Macquarie Harbour salmon.
Woolworths still insists on labelling their branded salmon as “responsibly sourced” pointing out a determination made by the government in August 2025. There has been no response to media inquiries in relation to the issue.
The salmon industry in Tasmania is estimated to be worth about $1 billion and employs about 5,000 full time jobs across the state.
Both the federal Labor government and the Tasmanian state Liberal government are backing the sector.
But it has had a tough time, with thousands of farmed fish dying in 2025 and the RSPCA withdrawing its certification of one major producer after footage emerged of alleged mistreatment.
Conservation organizations contend that the removal of the “responsibly sourced” tag by Coles is a subtle admission that the seafood cannot be considered sustainable with the threat of the Maugean skate becoming extinct.
Nevertheless, as shareholder pressure increases and scrutiny of environmental sustainability claims intensifies, it seems unlikely that the pressure on both organizations will diminish anytime soon.
