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De Costi Seafoods

OVERALL

Owned
AUS
Rating
Criticism, some praise

Seafood

Operates both retail and wholesale seafood operations, and 3 processing sites, sourcing seafood from Australia, New Zealand and the Asia Pacific region. Acquired by Tassal in 2015.

Company Ownership

De Costi Seafoods (Holdings) Pty Ltd   AUS     website   email      
  Tassal Group Ltd   
   owns 100% of De Costi Seafoods (Holdings) Pty Ltd  
AUS     website   email      

Atlantic salmon producer and exporter

Tassal operates 3 salmon hatcheries, 6 marine regions and 3 processing facilities, all in Tasmania, producing 16,000 tonnes of salmon per year.

> About the Ratings

Company Assessment

PRAISE CRITICISM INFORMATION
De Costi Seafoods (Holdings) Pty Ltd
Environment MSC certified products
This company sells products which are certified by the Marine Stewardship Council.
Source: MSC (2016)
Tassal Group Ltd
Environment Aquaculture Stewardship Council certification
This company has achieved Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certification for all of their salmon farming operations. Tassal worked with WWF since 2012 to develop their responsible aquaculture production to meet the requirements of the ASC Salmon Standard. However Environment Tasmania has expressed a number of concerns about WWF's certification scheme. (www.et.org.au/salmon_faqs)
Source: ASC (2020)
Environment Australian Packaging Covenant signatory
Signatory to the Australian Packaging Covenant, a voluntary agreement to encourage waste minimisation.
Source: Australian Packaging Covenant (2020)
Animals 'Say No' rating at GoodFish
Tassal operate salmon farms in Tasmania. GoodFish, Australia's Sustainable Seafood Guide recommends you 'say no' to farmed Atlantic salmon (Red rating). It's website states: produced in sea cages; carnivorous species that is dependent on wild caught fish that is manufactured into fish feed. While the amount of wild caught fish in feed has been reduced over recent years, the amount of wild-caught fish used in feed is currently more than the weight of salmon produced; localised impacts from salmon farming effluent are minor and short-lived; impacts of the industry on a broader ecological scale are less well understood; producers have reduced the use of antibiotics.
Source: GoodFish (2020)
Business Ethics 15/100 S&P Global ESG Score
This company received an S&P Global ESG Score of 15/100 in the Food Products category of the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment, an annual evaluation of companies' sustainability practices (last updated 7 Feb 2021). The rankings are based on an analysis of corporate economic, environmental and social performance, assessing issues such as corporate governance, risk management, environmental reporting, climate strategy, human rights and labour practices.
Source: S&P Global (2021)
Environment Salmon farming concerns
Fish farms maintained by this company in Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania are causing dire environmental and fish health impacts. Environmental problems with salmon farming in the area include nutrient pollution and dead zones, use of 1.7kg of wild fish to produce 1kg of farmed salmon, overcrowded sea cages, minimal monitoring and marine debris. Leaked documents tabled by the Greens reveal repeated breaches of licence conditions by this company, disease outbreaks and pollution.
Source: ABC (2015)
Animals Four Corners: Big Fish
ABC's Four Corners investigates the business of Tasmanian salmon production, including intensive farming, chemical colouring, salmon under stress and pristine waterways suffering. Also raised Tassal's payments to WWF-Australia and to an independent auditor to achieve ASC certification of Tassal's production process. (Oct 2016)
Source: Four Corners (2016)
Environment Sustainability Award 2015
In 2015 this company won an Australian Business Award for Sustainability, which recognises organisations that execute initiatives that demonstrate leadership and commitment to sustainable business practices.
Source: Australian Business Awards (2015)
Environment Best Aquaculture Practices certified
This companies has facilities which meet the Best Aquaculture Practices standards.
Source: BAP (2014)
Business Ethics Banksia Sustainability Award 2015
This company's CEO won a Banksia Sustainability Award in 2015 for demonstrating leadership through fully integrating sustainable principles and practices into operational activities, reducing the organisations' footprint and influencing and educating suppliers and customers.
Source: Banksia Foundation (2015)
Business Ethics Sustainability claims
This company has a number of sustainability claims on its website, including efforts in the areas of reducing the amount of wild fish and antibiotics used, environmental protection and community engagement.
Source: company website (2014)
Business Ethics Sustainable Aquaculture partnership with WWF
From 2012 to 2018, WWF worked with Tassal to offer expert advice on its sustainability strategy and guided the company on its commitments to standards of sustainable practice. Under the guidance of WWF, Tassal became the first salmon company in Australia to achieve Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certification for a farm site, and the first company globally to achieve this standard across its operations in 2014.
Source: WWF Australia (2018)
Business Ethics Sustainable Agriculture Initiative member
This company is a member of the Australian chapter of the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) Platform, the main food industry initiative supporting the development of sustainable agriculture worldwide. Created by Nestle, Unilever and Danone in 2002, the SAI Platform is a non-profit organization to facilitate sharing, at precompetitive level, of knowledge and initiatives to support the development and implementation of sustainable agriculture practices involving the different stakeholders of the food chain.
Source: SAI Platform Australia (2019)
Environment How green and clean is Tasmanian salmon?
Transcript from the ABC's 7:30 Report (2009). Issues raised include use of antibiotics, damage to marine environment, use of 4kg of wild fish to produce 1kg of farmed salmon, being called the "battery hens of the sea". Please note however that reliance of wild caught fish has reduced in recent years.
Source: ABC (2009)
Business Ethics FAIRR Protein Producer Index
The Coller FAIRR Protein Producer Index is a comprehensive assessment of how this sector is managing critical sustainability risks factors: GHGs; deforestation and biodiversity; water scarcity; water pollution; antibiotics; animal welfare; working conditions; food safety. This company was rated as medium risk.
Source: FAIRR (2019)

> About the Icons

Company Details

Revenue 56 million AUD (2008)
Employees 65 (2008)

Contact Details

Address 29 Bachell Ave, Lidcombe , NSW, 2141, Australia
Phone 02 9649 7699
Email info@decosti.com.au
Website www.decosti.com.au

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