Tassal 2019

Abstract

This case analyses the impact of offshore salmon farming on Australia’s island state of Tasmania. It pays special focus on the country’s biggest producer of Atlantic salmon, Tassal. The case showcases the growth of Tassal and the Tasmanian Salmon industry through 1986 to 2019. In the recent years, studies conducted by the EPA have shown various environmental troubles in and around the waters of Macquarie Harbour and Okehampton Bay, where the majority of offshore salmon farms are located. These findings led to court cases by one the competitors of Tassal as well as NGOs, the results of which would decide the fate of the Australian salmon Industry– a premium delicacy in Australia and East Asian countries. Given the pending announcement of the most recent appeal against a Federal court decision to allow the operation of salmon farming pens in Okehampton Bay, Mark Ryan, the CEO of the Tassal Group, must decide what strategic moves Tassal should make if they happen to lose the case. He must take into account the time and money already invested in the Okehampton Bay area and whether it was worth investing further in its offshore farms? How sustainable are offshore and marine farming in the Tasmanian waters? Considering the massive deaths in Macquarie harbour (2017-18) and Okehampton bay (2017), do the waterways in Tasmania continue to remain suitable to support such large-scale salmon cultivation? Considering the success of the De Costi and Fortune Prawns acquisitions, would it be better to move into the larger seafood segment?

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