Clean Seas Tuna, which operates in South Australian, announced this week that is is suing a former supplier for economic losses, claiming that they were caused by a nutrient deficiency in the feed.
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The company has served proceedings in the Supreme Court of South Australia against former feed supplier Gibson’s Ltd, trading as Skretting Australia, for feed supplied during the 2009 to 2012 financial years.
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In a statement, Clean Seas CEO Craig Foster said that the company’s proceedings assert that the feed supplied by Gibson’s Limited contained insufficient taurine – an essential dietary requirement for Yellowtail Kingfish and a range of other fish species.
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Foster said the company believed the deficiency led to mortalities and poor growth in its Yellowtail Kingfish stocks.
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“The company claims that it sustained substantial trading losses as a consequence,” Foster said.
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“The company’s solicitors have engaged independent forensic expert accountants to produce a report quantifying the company’s losses attributable to this claim.”
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In its statement, the company said that after it began supplementing Kingfish feed with taurine from July 2012, “the health of the company’s stocks materially improved, and fish survival rates and growth has since then exceeded all previous benchmarks”.
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Clean Seas is the only Australian commercial producer of farmed Yellowtail Kingfish, a species which is valued for use in sashimi and on restaurant menus as a cooked table fish.
