Q&A: Dolphin Safe Tuna Fishing
By David Phillips, Executive Director
The International Marine Mammal Project (IMMP) of Earth Island Institute has been safeguarding dolphins for more than four decades and continues to work assiduously for full implementation of strong laws, regulations and policies to ensure that dolphins are protected from indiscriminate fishing operations.
IMMP sometimes receives inquiries about the status of Dolphin Safe tuna fishing and questions regarding how the program works.
Q. What Does the Dolphin Safe Label Mean?
A. In the United States, the Dolphin Safe label law was enacted in 1990 to address the killing of dolphins associated with the fishing practice of intentionally chasing and purse-seine netting dolphins in order to catch tuna that swim below them.
The predominant area where dolphins have been killed by tuna fishing is in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean (ETP). The reason for this is that the ETP is the area where, for reasons not fully understood, dolphins and yellowfin tuna are often inextricably bonded in mixed schools.
Prior to the US Dolphin Safe law, the international fleet of tuna purse-seiners killed 80,000 to 100,000 dolphins per year, and this fishing practice endangered the survival of several species of dolphins. An estimated 7 million dolphins+ have been killed by tuna fleets since the advent of the use of purse seine nets, the largest marine mammal mortality associated with a fishing method in world history
The US Dolphin Safe law permits use of a Dolphin Safe tuna label ONLY for tuna caught without any intentional encirclement of dolphins, and, with later amendments, without any dolphin mortality or serious injury. It is the strongest Dolphin Safe label law in the world. Such associations between dolphins and tuna in other ocean areas are rare.
The International Marine Mammal Project also asks participating companies to ban shark finning onboard tuna vessels and to release any sharks or sea turtles that are accidentally caught in nets.
Q. Are US Tuna Companies Adhering to and Abiding by the Dolphin Safe Label Requirements?
A. IMMP monitors tuna companies worldwide, and it is very clear that the vast majority of tuna companies are committed to purchasing, processing, or selling tuna caught without intentional chase or capture or killing of dolphins.
In addition to global monitoring by IMMP staff, who inspect vessels, storage units and canneries, tuna fishing operations are also governed by regulations and onboard monitoring established by Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs), including the Western & Central Pacific Tuna Commission, the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, and the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna.
Furthermore, the US National Marine Fisheries Service has comprehensive legal regulations requiring use of fishing methods that prevent harm to dolphins. US tuna companies are fully abiding by the requirements set forth in Dolphin Safe tuna fishing standards.
Q. What about Tuna Companies Outside of the US?
A. After US establishment of the Dolphin Safe tuna label law in 1990, the vast majority of tuna companies around the world agreed to adhere to the same no-dolphin-encirclement policy. IMMP currently tracks more than 800 tuna companies worldwide that are in compliance with the Dolphin Safe policy and standards, covering more than 95% of the worldwide canned tuna market.
Unfortunately, some tuna companies in Mexico, Venezuela, and Colombia continue to use the fishing practice of intentional chase and capture of dolphins. None of the tuna products from intentional chase and capture of dolphins are purchased, processed, or sold by any of the US tuna brands. The tuna caught by this method is also not eligible to be labeled Dolphin Safe in the US.
Most of the world’s largest tuna processing operations are in countries such as Thailand and the Philippines, which prohibit canneries to process tuna not caught in accordance with Dolphin Safe fishing practices.
A small amount of dolphin unsafe tuna does come into the US markets from Mexican tuna companies, which legally cannot use a Dolphin Safe label in the US, from brands such as Dolores and TUNY, for sale in small grocery stores or discount markets. It is estimated that these companies’ failure to institute dolphin safeguards kills hundreds, and likely thousands, of dolphins annually.
Some tuna from Dolores in Mexico is appearing in US markets with a Dolphin Safe logo. Technically, this tuna was purchased by Dolores from other fishing vessels that do not set nets on dolphins. While this method is technically Dolphin Safe, IMMP notes that Dolores makes money from killing dolphins in other operations outside of the US. As such, we encourage consumers to avoid Dolores tuna.
Q. How Is the Dolphin Safe Law Enforced?
A. US tuna vessels no longer use the fishing practice of intentional chase and capture of dolphins. All purse seine vessels in the Eastern Tropical Pacific area where the intentional chase and capture fishing practice occurs, have on-board observers to monitor the fishing practices being used. Government observers also work on all tuna purse seine vessels in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean.
US tuna companies have also ceased purchase of all tuna products from any vessels and companies that still use the intentional chase and capture of dolphins fishing method. The US National Marine Fisheries Service has strict regulations for vessel compliance with Dolphin Safe tuna laws.
By law, no tuna caught by the intentional chase and capture of dolphins are allowed to be sold in the US with a Dolphin Safe label. Additionally, all tuna imported into the US must have documentation of its area of catch, the fishing practices used, and the compliance with laws, including those on dolphin protection. Onboard government observers report any dolphins killed by a tuna vessel and submit certificates confirming the Dolphin Safe status of the tuna catch.
Further, IMMP regularly monitors tuna procurement records and canneries, both foreign and domestic, in order to verify that they are only purchasing, processing and selling tuna products that are sourced from tuna fishing fleets that employ Dolphin Safe practices. This ensures that the canneries are fully compliant with Dolphin Safe laws and policies.
Q. Is the Dolphin Safe Tuna Label Helping Dolphins?
A. Absolutely. The Dolphin Safe label has had a huge positive impact in the protection of dolphins.
Dolphin mortality in the Eastern Tropical Pacific has been reduced by more than 99% since enactment of Dolphin Safe label laws, preventing the killing of more than 90,000 dolphins per year.
Tuna caught by the relatively few remaining vessels that use dolphin-deadly fishing practices have lost most markets around the world for their tuna products thanks to the ongoing work of IMMP.
Those who undermine the Dolphin Safe label or claim that it is just a hoax are largely led by the Mexican tuna industry and others who continue to kill thousands of dolphins annually. If you see tuna cans without a Dolphin Safe label it is highly likely that dolphins were likely killed in the process of catching that tuna.
Q. What about the Challenge to the Dolphin Safe Tuna Label at the World Trade Organization (WTO)?
A. The Mexican Government’s challenge of the Dolphin Safe tuna label at the WTO failed by a final ruling in December 2018.
After ten years of litigation, the WTO ruled that US Dolphin Safe tuna label law was a legitimate conservation measure. Furthermore, the WTO acknowledged that the US policy of disallowing tuna caught by any setting of nets on dolphins and identified as ‘dolphin safe’ was not a discriminatory trade measure against Mexico.
The WTO ruling validated the positions of the US government and IMMP that the strong US Dolphin Safe law is critical for the protection of dolphins.
For a decade, IMMP worked closely with the US Office of the Trade Representative (USTR) to successfully defend the Dolphin Safe label and standards before the WTO, and USTR in turn depended on the extensive research conducted by scientists of the US National Marine Fisheries Service and their work to show that Dolphin Safe tuna fishing is the best protection for dolphins.
For further information on Dolphin Safe tuna and Earth Island’s role in protecting dolphins from tuna nets, go to www.DolphinSafe.org.
Our website includes a list of tuna companies that have pledged to be Dolphin Safe.
Have a question? Email it to DolphinSafe@earthisland.org
