Labels Rule!

Don't Let Bush Administration Gut Dolphin-Safe Tuna Labeling Standards!

Action Needed Now!

Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans will SOON be making a critical decision on whether or not to weaken the standards for the "Dolphin Safe" tuna label.

Tell him "No!" "Dolphin- Safe" tuna labeling is one of our greatest conservation victories.

Tuna fishermen in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) once targeted dolphins because tuna and dolphins form mixed schools. Since the late 1950's, the tuna fishery killed more than 7 million dolphins. However, with the advent of the "Dolphin Safe" tuna program in 1990 -- which prohibits the use of any tuna caught by chasing and netting dolphins -- dolphin deaths have decreased by 97% in the ETP.

The "Dolphin Safe" tuna label has saved the lives of thousands of dolphins. However, free-trade advocates are lobbying hard to undercut U.S. dolphin protection laws and open U.S. markets to dolphin-deadly tuna.

What You Must Do, Today!

• Write a letter to Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans:
  
  Address:
  The Hon. Donald Evans
  Secretary of Commerce
  US Department of Commerce
  14th Street and Constitution Ave. NW
  Washington, DC 20230
  
  Tell him:
  • Not to weaken the standards for the "Dolphin Safe" tuna label. Dolphins should not be chased and netted to catch tuna; there are alternative fishing methods that do no harm to dolphins.
  • You will not buy tuna caught by chasing and netting dolphins.
  • Scientists have shown that chasing and netting dolphins causes significant adverse impacts on dolphin populations, including preventing their recovery from depletion and separating dependent calves from their mothers.
  • To add your letter to the Official Decision Record.
    
    
• Buy "Dolphin-Safe" Tuna:
  • Best picks for canned tuna brands:
    StarKist, Chicken of the Sea and Bumblebee; these companies have pledged not to net dolphins.
  • You also can choose albacore and skipjack tuna, which do not swim with dolphins.
  • Fresh tuna, moreover, is harvested in a way that does not harm dolphins -- although you should limit consumption of fresh tuna because of mercury levels (see The Green Guide's Which Fish? article).
    
    
• Avoid Dolores and Tuny tuna brands -- Dolphin Deadly! These brands cannot legally be imported into the US, but still sometimes find their way into small, primarily Mexican-owned food stores.

References

Defenders of Wildlife, www.defenders.org
Earth Island Institute, www.earthisland.org
Save Dolphin Safe Label action alert, www.savedolphins.org