Weeks after apologising to shareholders for an "unviable" plan to build the world's biggest prawn farm on the WA/NT border, the chief executive of one of Australia's largest aquaculture companies has quit.
Mick McMahon announced his resignation from Seafarms today and will step down immediately after eight months in the top job.
It comes after signs of mounting tensions among the company's leadership team, which were made clear to shareholders at a recent investor briefing.
The former Ingham's Chicken boss handed down a scathing review into Seafarms' long-held plans for a major prawn farm at a remote cattle station near Kununurra in March.
Project Sea Dragon garnered millions of dollars' worth of support from the federal, WA and NT governments since it was first touted in 2012.
Momentum was building around the project last year after construction began at its grow-out facility at Legune Station, where Seafarms planned to produce more than 100,000 tonnes of black tiger prawns a year.
But after the completion of a review into the project this year, Mr McMahon described the project as "unviable in its current form".
He said Project Sea Dragon involved "unacceptable risk" and would "not generate acceptable financial returns" to shareholders.
Seafarms will instead work on scaling up a pilot project at Legune Station.
Mr McMahon apologised to shareholders during the briefing, while suggesting the company's leaders should "take responsibility for their actions".
The company's share price fell more than 40 per cent off the back of the announcement.
Mr McMahon's tough critique of Project Sea Dragon is believed to have prompted Ian Trahar – the company's biggest shareholder – to put in a formal request to remove Mr McMahon as a director of the company.
Mr Trahar has been a key driver of the project and was previously the company's executive chairman.
An extraordinary general meeting was scheduled for June 20 for a vote on Mr McMahon's future, but his resignation means that will no longer be required.
Mr Trahar will take the reins as non-executive chairman as the search begins for a new chief executive.
In a statement, Seafarms acknowledged Mr McMahon for his contributions as a director, and wished him "every success in the future".
Mr McMahon and Mr Trahar declined to comment.
