Staff Spotlight: Meet Trixie Concepcion, the Director of the Asia-Pacific Dolphin Safe Monitoring Program

By Rosemary Ellis

Ms. Theresa “Trixie” Concepcion has worked for the International Marine Mammal Project (IMMP) of Earth Island Institute since 1992. She and her team work tirelessly to protect dolphins and marine mammals throughout the Asia-Pacific area. They audit more than 200 fishing companies in East Asia and the Western Pacific to ensure compliance with the international Dolphin Safe label standards. Their efforts don’t stop there though, they also lead anti-captivity, anti-reclamation, and plastic reduction campaigns.

IMMP is very grateful for Trixie and her team’s ongoing, lasting impact on marine animals. Before the Dolphin Safe tuna label, dolphins would die by the tens of thousands every year due to vessels deliberately encircling, chasing, and netting dolphins to catch tuna. Now, the verified Dolphin Safe label is the only label that ensures that tuna is caught in a manner than protects dolphins from such deadly practices.

Read more, directly from Trixie, about her work and history with Earth Island Institute below:

What brought you to work for Earth Island Institute?

As a student, I was already active in many environmental organizations and wanted to pursue a professional career doing environmental work. In the early 1990s as a new graduate of Geology in the Philippines, my only option was a career in the resource extractive industries such as mining, oil, and gas. I knew I would not be happy in that line of work and that I had to look for other options. I came to know that an environmental NGO was looking for a writer/researcher and was fortunate enough to be hired as part of the staff of the IMMP in 1992. I was not really expecting to stay long with Earth Island, but things happen and I find myself being with the organization for more than 30 years.

What is a typical workday like for you?

When we are on audits, we would normally spend several days inspecting tuna fish un-loadings, checking cold storage facilities, and checking the factory. In all our audits, we ensure that there is verifiable documentation that the fish comes from a Dolphin Safe supplier. When we are back at the office, normally that would be used in preparation for the next audit by studying documentation and doing light research on companies to be audited.

We also undertake a lot of campaigns where we are in our home country, from anti-captivity campaigns, plastic-free campaigns, coastal clean-ups, anti-reclamation campaigns, environmental seminars/webinars, marine stranding trainings, and the like. With the rise of the internet and instant messaging, a typical day can be spent undertaking a remote audit of a company and then having online meetings or organizing events for campaigns. There aren’t really fixed days for campaign work or monitoring work, with me it is always doing both at the same time.

What is a typical work day like for one of the monitors aboard tuna vessels?

Our staff involved in our onboard monitoring program would spend two weeks with the captain and crew of a boat observing the fishing operations and interacting with the crew of the boat. They would rest another two weeks and then board the next boat. A typical day for our onboard observers would be mainly observing the crew looking for fish the whole day, observing and documenting fish sets, and checking if there are any by-catch during a fish set. Our monitors have forms to record all the conditions present during a particular fishing trip. There would also be times when there would be no fish caught for days and this is spent talking and educating the crew about why IMMP has an on-board program.

Observers are very important for the tuna fishery not only because we gather a lot of data on that particular fishing trip, but more so because the captains and crew are more careful when they fish. Additionally, our monitors are able to conduct educational discussions with the crew on the need to conserve dolphins and other protected species. I believe the interaction of our onboard observers with the captain and crew of the fishing boat was very critical in changing the mindset of the crew for if and when they would encounter dolphins or other protected species in the ocean.

What elements of your work are the most challenging and why?

When I came in 1992, the Dolphin Safe monitoring program was just being established with observers being deployed in local fishing boats in the southern Philippines. At that time, there were no protocols and procedures on how to monitor the different tuna fishing operations, from the fishing companies to trading and processing companies.

In 1990, the US IMMP office developed the Dolphin Safe Policy which lists criteria and conditions by which a company can be considered Dolphin Safe. At that time, I remember the Dolphin Safe Policy had only 5 items or so. Some years later the Dolphin Safe criteria increased to 15 items. It was a challenge to develop the monitoring protocol to ensure that the different companies in different countries would be able to comply with the Dolphin Safe Policy.

“I believe that the Dolphin Safe Policy as it is today is still one of the best environmental criteria both for protecting marine animals and ensuring sustainability in the fishing industry.” – Trixie Concepcion

Another challenging aspect of the tuna monitoring program is the travel to sometimes very remote areas to see tuna un-loadings. We get to see different kinds of tuna fisheries from the artisanal to the super seiners. I am very lucky that the rest of the Asia Pacific team are adventurous by heart and do not mind traveling to distant and remote places.

COVID has led us to develop, with IMMP monitors around the world, a process for remote auditing of tuna vessels, canneries, and cold storage facilities.

What are you most proud of after working for IMMP for 31 years?

There are just so many things that I am proud of after working at IMMP for these past 31 years. First is that we were able to undertake advocacies that change people's perceptions, especially towards animals and the environment. In the 1990s, people thought it was okay to keep animals such as dolphins for entertainment, there were traveling dolphin shows that regularly came to Manila during the holidays. Since we started our anti-captivity advocacy in the 1990s, traveling shows no longer go to the Philippines, plans of constructing dolphin parks in the country have been abandoned, and people are now more aware of what comprises cruelty to an animal.

On the monitoring front, I am most proud of developing a system where we can audit many types of companies for compliance with the Dolphin Safe Policy. In 2022 we audited 234 companies in different countries. We are proud to have made our auditing system adaptable to the different situations that we encounter on the ground, but always with the end goal of making sure that companies strictly adhere to the Dolphin Safe Policy.

For more information on the IMMP Earth Island Philippines office, see their new publication, Lumba.

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Millions of dolphins have been saved due to the Dolphin Safe standards and label, developed by IMMP. Your support will allow Trixie and her team to maintain and grow their impactful work protecting marine species throughout East Asia and the Western Pacific. Additionally, IMMP continues to pressure Mexico, Colombia and Venezuela to join the 95% of the worldwide canned tuna industry in implementing Dolphin Safe fishing methods, by ending all chasing, netting and killing of dolphins. Join our efforts by donating today!