Saturday, May 2, 2015

The fraud of 'dolphin safe' tuna labelling

'Dolphin Safe' Labels On Canned Tuna Are A Fraud - Forbes - K. William Watson, Cato Institute:

April 29, 2015 - "After multiple condemnations from the World Trade Organization, it’s time for consumers to realize that U.S. 'dolphin safe' labels are a fraud cooked up by special interests. A WTO panel announced for the third time in three years that U.S. laws defining dolphin-safe are protectionist. This should be a wake-up call for eco-conscious consumers who want to make sure their grocery purchases aren’t harming the ocean. By providing cover for a handful of major brands the law actually makes it harder to purchase responsibly caught tuna....

"Most Americans think that the existence of a dolphin-safe label means that no dolphins were harmed when the tuna were caught. In truth, the label only means that one particular fishing method was not used in one particular part of the ocean.... Known as 'setting on dolphins,' the practice of circling dolphin pods with nets as a way to catch tuna was widely criticized for harming dolphin populations up through the 1980s. But that was before the creation of the International Dolphin Conservation Program, which places observers on tuna vessels to verify that no dolphins are harmed during the catch. Since then, dolphin mortality from this practice has virtually disappeared.

"In order to qualify as dolphin-safe, tuna may not be caught using this method regardless of whether dolphins are actually harmed.... One important aspect of the dolphin-safe labeling rules is that companies that do not meet the specific requirements are prohibited not only from using the label but from stating anything about how their practices impact dolphins. That means that Mexican tuna brands have no way to explain their fishing methods to consumers....

"Unlike Mexican fisheries, the major U.S. producers catch tuna using fish aggregation devices (FADs), a practice that activists have condemned as 'floating death traps' because of its high incidence of bycatch.... It is no accident then that the major U.S. tuna producers who support and benefit from the dolphin-safe label are counted by activists as among the worst offenders on sustainable fishing practices....

"And what does Greenpeace have to say about the dolphin safe label? 'Dolphin safe does not mean ocean safe. It means that one fishing method that targets tuna that swim with dolphins is not used to catch the tuna. What about the rays and turtles?'....

"The best way to empower consumers to make a difference in tuna practices is to keep government out of the labeling business. Open competition will foster more sharing of more accurate and relevant information. Groups like Greenpeace serve a vital function in the market by providing like-minded consumers with well-packaged information. The existence of federal rules, however, gives power to lobbyists that they would not have in a free market."

Read more: http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2015/04/29/dolphin-safe-labels-on-canned-tuna-are-a-fraud/
'via Blog this'

No comments:

Post a Comment