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 photo
courtesy of the Humane Society of the United States |
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Lawsuit
Filed against Secretary of Commerce; Groups Seek Restraining Order: (San Francisco) On Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2002, Earth Island Institute and eight other environmental and animal welfare groups filed a lawsuit against the Secretary of Commerce in San Francisco Federal Court, seeking to overturn the Bush Administration's recent decision to weaken federal "Dolphin Safe" tuna label standards. These groups are seeking a court order to block the weakened tuna label and prevent thousands of cans of Mexican tuna, falsely labeled as "Dolphin Safe," from flooding into the U.S. For complete report, click here: http://www.earthisland.org/news/new_news.cfm?newsID=310 Tuna fishermen in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) target dolphins because tuna and dolphins form mixed schools. Since the late 1950's, the tuna fishery has killed more than 7 million dolphins. However, since 1990 and the advent of the "Dolphin Safe" tuna program, dolphin deaths have decreased by 98% in the ETP. The "Dolphin Safe" tuna label has saved the lives of thousands of dolphins. The "Dolphin Safe" label now prohibits use of any tuna caught by chasing and netting dolphins by fishermen (e.g. non-encirclement of dolphins). However, politically connected tuna millionaires in Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela teamed up with free-trade advocates in the Bush Administration to undercut U.S. dolphin protection laws and open U.S. markets to dolphin-deadly tuna, falsely labeled as "Dolphin Safe." Indeed, the key players in the tuna industry in Latin America include the drug cartels of Colombia and Mexico, which use commercial tuna fishing boats to smuggle drugs. The advent of the "Dolphin Safe" tuna program shut off the "tuna/cocaine connection," and the drug cartels want access back into the U.S., hiding behind the tuna industry. The Secretary's finding on the "Dolphin Safe" label is supposed to be based on science, but the politics of trade are winning out over the lives of dolphins. The Department of Commerce's own scientific experts have shown that dolphin populations are not recovering in the ETP. Chasing and netting dolphins causes physiological stress, injuries, and separates mothers from dependent calves. For further information, contact Earth Island Institute, International Marine Mammal Project, 300 Broadway, Suite 28, San Francisco, CA 94133; Voice: (415) 788-3666; Fax: (415) 788-7324; marinemammal@earthisland.org |
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Links
to more online information and action:
Earth Island Institute: http://www.earthisland.org/news/new_news.cfm?newsID=292 |
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