NOAA gets caught on their own long line
by Campaign for Eco-Safe Tuna
July 12, 2013
This week the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ducked another chance to fix the broken “dolphin-safe” labeling scheme. A recent WTO action ruled the US “dolphin-safe” label violated the U.S. international obligations, citing its inappropriate, deceptive and discriminatory use. With that ruling, NOAA was given the task of bringing U.S. fishing regulations up to code and back into compliance with WTO trade commitments. They came back with a pitiful set of minor adjustments that do nothing to address the vast systematic fraud that continues to deceive consumers and put the entire marine ecosystem at risk.
Since its inception, the Dolphin Protection Consumer Information Act (DPCIA) has been the standard for dolphin protection in the commercial fishing industry. But over time clever industry and NGO profiteers have skirted the rules using obvious loopholes in the agreement and the apparent unwillingness of the U.S. government to uphold truth in labeling laws. The “dolphin safe” labeling law (DPCIA) doesn’t explicitly ban the use of FADs because they were not part of the original problem of dolphin mortalities. It doesn’t extend its protections to sea turtles, sperm whales, whale sharks, and other marine life. And its roar becomes a whimper if a fishery goes outside the Eastern Pacific Ocean (ETP).
Outside the ETP, the Act only requires a written claim from the fishing captain saying that no dolphins were killed. So what if a few dead dolphins get chopped up and dumped over the side? Who’s going to speak up when the rest of the haul is worth hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars? Authorized observers are only required in the ETP, at NOAA’s discretion.
NOAA responds to these challenges by pointing out that captains are required to submit their certification in writing, as if putting a lie in writing makes it sacred truth. NOAA says consumers don’t need to be educated about the lack of observer certification in most of the world’s oceans because “the rule is already clear.” Because when every American tuna consumer isn’t here reading the blog, they’re all out combing through the fine print in every arcane fisheries regulation governing their food labels.
NOAA is responsible for U.S. compliance with DPCIA, not only as a legal standard but as environmental and ethical standards as well. Judging whether the newly-tweaked regulations meet the minimum legal requirements will now be up to the WTO, but there is no question that NOAA’s “enhanced” regulations fail even the most basic ethical and environmental criteria. In the decades since the DPCIA law was enacted, the fishing industry has changed. Every year, fishing utilizing fish aggregating devices (FADs) entangle hundreds of sperm whales, whale sharks, sea turtles, really anything that gets close enough. Fisheries send fleets outside of the ETP to catch vast amounts of unregulated seafood and with the flick of the captain’s wrist it’s all stamped “dolphin-safe." These are old well-known loopholes. NOAA could have done something about them, but apparently “the rule is already clear.” No need to actually fix the problem, just don’t rock the boat.
