Tassal
Harm on record. Has recent confirmed harm to workers that it hasn't put right.
Last researched 23 October 2026 · 9 sources
Tasmanian farmed salmon and Australian prawn brand owned by Canada's Cooke.
In 2021, 20 processing plant workers were hospitalised with carbon monoxide poisoning from forklifts used indoors.
Also worth knowing
There's no public record of Tassal putting this right.
Know something we've missed? Send evidence. Represent Tassal? Send a right of reply.
Compare Tassal with another brand
Why it's graded Harm on record
- Not met: Meets 6 of 7 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has a confirmed problem with workers' pay, rights or safety that it hasn't shown it is fixing. It can't be On Track until it shows it is.
- Holds the grade back: It's Harm on record because of a serious confirmed problem from the last 5 years with no public record of it being put right: unsafe conditions, last recorded in 2021.
Good requirements 6 of 7
- Met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: presumed because legal wages in Australia are about a living wage, not checked at the company. Workers were underpaid or not paid in its supply chain in 2022, which it has since put right. That's listed below and no longer counts against the grade.
- Not met: Respects worker rightsA confirmed problem counts against it: unsafe conditions, last recorded in 2021
- Met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standardsPresumed from where it's made, not audited
- Met: Shows where its earlier production stages happen, not just the final oneEarlier stages shown
- Met: No child or forced labour findings or links
- Met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that listMakes its products in its own factories
- Met: Traces its catch to the boat or farm and has crews' or farm workers' conditions checked independently
Red flags 1
- Red flag: A confirmed problem with pay, rights or safety not shown to be put right
| Star | Awarded for |
|---|---|
| Open supply chain |
Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
From Tassal's own disclosure: it makes its products in its own factories.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
Evidence
What we found
- Passes the raw-material check for fish and seafood: traces its catch to the boat or farm and has crews' or farm workers' conditions checked independently.
- Owns or runs its own production
- Traces most of its fish and seafood to named fishing boats or farms
- Has crews' and farm workers' conditions checked independently (e.g. a vessel standard such as RFVS, or third-party crew interviews)
- Modern slavery statement
- Has a confirmed problem with workers' pay, rights or safety that it hasn't shown it is fixing (listed under Confirmed issues), so it can't be graded higher until it shows it is.
Research notes Tassal farms its own salmon in Tasmania and prawns in Queensland and New South Wales, and processes them in its own plants at Huonville, Margate, Dover and Triabunna and at Lidcombe, NSW. About 6% of supplier spend goes to overseas suppliers in 24 countries. Its farms carry GLOBALG.A.P. certification with GRASP social audits that include private worker interviews, and labour hire and Pacific (PALM) workers are used in peak processing. All its salmon farms were ASC certified in 2014, but Macquarie Harbour certificates were later given up and no current share is given.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Listed | Tassal Group lodges annual modern slavery statements; the 2025 statement reports GRASP social audits with private worker interviews on its salmon and prawn farms and no confirmed modern slavery in its own operations. View |
| News reporting and NGO investigations | Problem found | Subsidiary De Costi Seafoods was fined $60,000 in 2023 and back-paid $1.59 million after a court found it underpaid overtime to early-shift workers. View |
Confirmed issues 2
Only confirmed problems are listed, and old ones drop off after 10 to 15 years. A problem the company has fully put right no longer counts against it, and nor does one it finds and is fixing itself. How problems are counted
| Last recorded | What happened | Made amends? |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | The Federal Circuit and Family Court found in 2022 that Tassal's seafood processing subsidiary De Costi underpaid overtime to about 230 workers starting shifts before 6am at its Lidcombe plant, after a case brought by the Australian Workers' Union (AWU, 2023). Source · archived copyPut right The company has put this right for the people affected, so it no longer counts against the grade. | YesDe Costi back-paid $1,589,694 to 159 current and 71 former workers by October 2022 and was fined $60,000 in 2023. |
| 2021 | In May 2021, 20 workers at Tassal's Strathblane salmon processing plant were taken to hospital after carbon monoxide poisoning, which the Tasmanian minister confirmed was caused by the wrong type of forklift being used indoors (The New Daily; Tasmanian Parliament, 2021). Source · archived copy | Not knownTassal resumed operations after clearance from authorities; no outcome of the WorkSafe Tasmania investigation or support for injured workers has been reported. |
Sources and actions
Sources 9
Show all 9 sources
- De Costi hit with $60k penalty after underpaying workers $1.6m (AWU, 2023) · archived copy · Tassal subsidiary De Costi underpaid overtime at Lidcombe; $1,589,694 back-paid to 230 workers by Oct 2022; $60,000 penalty
- Tassal Group Modern Slavery Statement 2024 (Australian register) · search the archive · 2024 statement refers to ASC and GLOBALG.A.P.; PALM workers; 93% of supplier spend in Australia
- Six remain in hospital after Tas salmon plant gas leak (The New Daily, 2021) · archived copy · 20 people taken to hospital from Tassal's Strathblane plant on 30 May 2021; carbon monoxide from forklifts suspected
- All Tassal salmon farming operations ASC certified (World Fishing, 2014) · search the archive · All Tassal salmon farms ASC certified by November 2014
- Supermarkets defend salmon supplies with skate on skids (Port Macquarie News / AAP, 2024) · search the archive · Tassal gave up its Macquarie Harbour ASC certificates; ASC still certifies salmon from other Tasmanian sites
- Workplace Safety and Consumer Affairs - Tassal WorkSafe Investigation (Tasmanian Greens, Hansard extract, 2021) · search the archive · Minister confirmed the wrong type of forklift used indoors caused the poisoning; WorkSafe investigation ongoing
- Takeover target Tassal puts salmon on more shelves (Fish Farming Expert, 2022) · search the archive · Tassal salmon products sold at Coles and Woolworths
Published by Tassal or its owner
- Tassal Modern Slavery Statement 2025 · search the archive · Peak workforce 1,869; farms and processing in Tas, Qld, NSW, WA; 6% of spend overseas in 24 countries; GRASP farm audits with private worker interviews; labour hire and PALM; Cooke Inc control
- Tassal international brochure, September 2023 (Cooke) · search the archive · Salmon processing at Huonville, Margate, Dover and Triabunna; prawn farms at Mission Beach, Proserpine and Yamba; Lidcombe seafood processing; all farms third-party certified
Company details
- Owned by
- Cooke Inc (Canada)
- Headquarters
- Australia
- Employees
- About 1,869
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Tassal ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/tassal, last researched 23 October 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Harm on record means
Better-graded salmon and farmed fish
New Zealand King SalmonMissing: a traced catch with crews or farm workers checked · Fish & seafoodFarmed king salmonPays or is working towards a living wage, with gaps still to close.On TrackPartly verifiedPetunaMissing: a traced catch with crews or farm workers checked · Fish & seafoodFarmed Tasmanian ocean trout and salmonPays or is working towards a living wage, with gaps still to close.On TrackPartly verified
No salmon and farmed fish brand selling new goods is Good yet. These are the strongest so far.
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Tassal.