Judge strikes down government decision on 'dolphin-safe' tuna

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal judge on Tuesday struck down a government decision to allow the use of the "dolphin-safe" label<br>on canned tuna even when some of the tuna are captured by huge encircling

Tuesday, April 11th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal judge on Tuesday struck down a government decision to allow the use of the "dolphin-safe" label
on canned tuna even when some of the tuna are captured by huge encircling nets that often harm dolphins.

U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson, in a ruling handed down in San Francisco, said the Commerce Department improperly concluded
that the change would not have any significant adverse impact on dolphin fatalities.

The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by some environmental groups and dolphin-protection activists who have argued that the labeling
change a year ago by the Commerce Department amounted to a weakening of U.S. laws protecting dolphins.

Commerce Department officials could not immediately be reached late Tuesday for comment, although the ruling is expected to be appealed.

It was not immediately clear what impact the ruling will have, if any, on grocery shelves. The judge did not address Congress'
decision in 1997 to lift the import ban on tuna caught with the nets, only whether the label could be used when tuna is known to be
caught in that way.

The three major tuna processors -- Star-kist, Chicken of the Sea and Bumble Bee -- have all said they would continue using only tuna
caught by methods other than net encirclement. The three processors share about 90 percent of the U.S. tuna market.

Congress in 1997 directed the Commerce Department to re-examine the use of the label after it voted to lift the import ban.

A year ago, Commerce Secretary William Daley concluded that there was insufficient evidence to say that the use of purse-seine
nets by tuna fishermen causes "significant adverse impact" on dolphins. So, the label's use was broadened.

Use of the nets once was responsible for the death of more than 100,000 dolphins a year. But the dolphin death toll has declined to no more than 3,000 a year in recent years.

Henderson, in his ruling, concluded that Daley "abused his discretion" and went beyond the law when he initiated the change in label criteria simply because he did not have evidence of adverse impact.

The issue has had environmental groups sharply divided.

David Phillips, director of Earth Island Institute's marine mammal project, was pleased with the court ruling.

"This is a tremendous rebuke to President Clinton, Vice President Gore and the free-trade bureaucrats who sold out dolphin
protection to accommodate a handful of foreign fishing companies, killing dolphins to catch tuna," declared Phillips.

But the labeling change has had the support of such groups as Greenpeace, the Center for Marine Conservation and the Environmental Defense Fund.

These organizations argue the old, strict adherence to when the label can be used has blocked international cooperation aimed at
protecting dolphins. Some countries like Mexico will not participate in dolphin protection measures unless U.S. markets are
opened without restrictions, these groups have argued.

Even with the change, Commerce Department officials have argued, observers must still be stationed on tuna boats and must verify that dolphins were not killed or seriously injured by nets if the label is to be used.

In addition to Earth Island Institute, those who joined in the lawsuit challenging the label change included the Humane Society of the United States, Defenders of Wildlife, International Wildlife Coalition, Animal Fund, Oceanic Society and Environmental Solutions
International.