Dolphins still seen in danger despite new US rules
Date: 02-Jan-03
Country: USA
Author: Christopher Doering
The U.S. Commerce Department's National Marine Fisheries Service said a study found that using mile-long nets to capture tuna in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean will not threaten the dolphin species.
The findings mean tuna from countries such as Mexico can be exported to the United States and labeled as "dolphin safe" if no dolphins were injured or killed when the fish were removed.
In the past, countries that used dolphins to target tuna could not post the "dolphin safe" label on products shipped to the United States.
Dolphins are often a good indicator of tuna habitats and are used by fisherman to determine where to place their nets. Earlier methods of using fishing nets killed hundreds of thousands of dolphins, but deaths have dropped to 2,000 per year according to the government - still too many for environmental groups.
While the new rule requires that tuna associated with the death of one or more dolphins must be separated from that deemed "dolphin safe," some groups say the meat could still make its way into U.S. grocery stores.
They also argue that thousands more dolphins die each year that go unreported.
"The whole point of the 'Dolphin Safe' label is to give consumers a choice of tuna that wasn't caught by netting dolphins," said William Snape, vice president with the Defenders of Wildlife.
"Presented with a clear chance to do the right thing for American consumers, the environment, and even U.S. tuna companies (such as StarKist who support the labeling), the Bush administration couldn't help but run the other way," he said.
Defenders of Wildlife, the Humane Society and other environmental and animal protection groups said they will challenge the decision in court.
Environmentalists say the administration eased the rule to boost free trade and to help Mexico, which has long pushed for a revision to the "dolphin safe" labeling.
The Commerce Department defended the findings, and said U.S. consumption of tuna from the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean has decreased in recent years.
"The dolphin safe label was developed as a way to help protect and conserve dolphins," said Bill Hogarth, director with the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration division.
"With this decision, Americans can continue to have confidence that when they purchase tuna with the dolphin-safe label that dolphins are being protected."
The United States and other international fisherman are members of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, which aims to reduce dolphin deaths while allowing tuna fishing to continue.