COVID-19 SAFETY MEASURES AT SEA HARVEST

The severity and scale of the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19) started reaching the world’s news headlines as the Sea Harvest Group ended the financial year under review. As the Group’s leadership team continued to monitor the unfolding story about the spread and impact of the virus, the Group’s CEO assembled an Executive Task Team on 27 February 2020 to formulate the Group’s response to the virus in an effort to prioritise the safety of our employees, protect our operations and ensure our ability to continue meeting our stakeholders’ expectations in terms of product demand. By 4 March, an Initial Response Guide was finalised by the Executive Task Team, and a multi-disciplinary task team was subsequently established at each site across the Group to contribute to a holistic and effective effort against the virus.

The partial lockdown implemented in Australia significantly affected Sea Harvest Australia’s operations, while the Group’s South African operations were less impacted as food-producing companies were classified as an “essential service” and were, therefore, exempt from a lockdown that commenced at midnight on 26 March. While the response of each Group site was different based on its unique requirements, at the Group’s large operating site, Saldanha Bay, a standard operating procedure (SOP) was developed to provide clear and actionable guidance for employee safety and safe operations through prevention, early detection and emergency procedures. The SOP was integrated with the Sea Harvest Crisis and Emergency Management Procedure and included the measures below, which were implemented with immediate effect.