By Anai Rhoads -
[email protected]
The Mexican tuna industry is said to be responsible for
a dramatic decline of dolphins in the eastern Pacific ocean. This
according to an August 2002 report published by U.S. government
scientists. [1]
A December 5th release stated eastern Spinner dolphins
are only 35% of their pre-fishery levels. Northeastern off-shore spotted
dolphins are only 20%. Neither population is recovering at a rate
consistent with the levels of depletion. An estimated 6 million dolphins
have been killed since the 1950s, reportedly because current tuna
fishing techniques.
In 1972, the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA)
www.mms.gov/envd-bea/mmpa/
was passed by the U.S. Congress to protect mammals who dwell in the
world's oceans by prohibiting capture, injury, harassment or killing of
ocean animals.
Under the 1994 amendments [2], the Congress statutorily
defined and divided the term "harassment" to mean any act of pursuit,
torment, or annoyance which:
Level A Harassment- has the potential to injure a marine
mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild; or
Level B Harassment- has the potential to disturb a
marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild by causing disruption
or behavioral patterns, including, but not limited to, migration,
breathing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or sheltering.
In 1997, Congress considered legislation, called the
Dolphin Conservation Act (DCA), that would undermine the MMPA's ban on
imports of tuna that involved the entrapment of dolphins. Environmental
and conservation activists were alarmed that the U.S. sought to appease
Mexico by weakening the "Dolphin Safe" label.
A hundred page report that was prepared by NOAA
Fisheries' Southwest Fisheries Science Centre [3] and based on research
conducted from 1997 up to 2002. It cites contributing factors as to why
the dolphin populations are not recovering. Scientists clearly suspect
the eastern Pacific tuna industry as a major factor.
There are no current reports that state the Mexican tuna
industry have any plans to update labels from Dolphin Safe to something
more appropriate.
Urge Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans to protect the
"dolphin-safe" label on tuna by signing this template
www.workingforchange.com/activism/action.cfm?ltemld=13929
Contact information for the advocacy group working on
this issue:
Defenders of Wildlife
National Headquarters
1101 14th Street, NW #1400
Washington, DC 20005
http://www.savedolphins.org/
� 2002 Anai Rhoads. All rights reserved.
[1] Defenders.org:
www.defenders.org/wildlife/dolphin/report.pdf
Requires Acrobat Reader.
[2] To read the entire MMPA document in a pdf file click
here.
[3]
www.nmfs.noaa.gov/prot_res/laws/MMPA/mmpatext/mmpaall.pdf
NOAA
Restoration Centre
Anai Rhoads is a health and political writer from
Virginia, with
work published in various online newspapers. Her main job is writing and
editing health, reproduction and Vegan web sites. A vegan since 2000,
she
is a dedicated supporter of activities which promote animal and human
rights.
Anai Rhoads
Freelance Writer and Editor
(703) 491-0176
[email protected]
http://vegweb.com/cgi/faq/anai/smartfaq.cgi
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