The Associated Press reports that the US Commerce Department has softened the requirements for using the “dolphin safe” label on tuna fish, saying that it may be used as long as it can be certified that no dolphins were killed or seriously injured during the catch, even if the tuna was caught by using dolphins to encircle the tuna.
The old rule said that any tuna caught using dolphins as targets were barred from bearing the consumer-friendly label on cans sold in the United States.
The ruling will allow Mexico and Ecuador to ship tuna to the United States.
However, the decision was criticized by environmentalists, who said that international safeguards are insufficient to assure that fishermen are living up to both the spirit and the letter of the rule.
The old rule said that any tuna caught using dolphins as targets were barred from bearing the consumer-friendly label on cans sold in the United States.
The ruling will allow Mexico and Ecuador to ship tuna to the United States.
However, the decision was criticized by environmentalists, who said that international safeguards are insufficient to assure that fishermen are living up to both the spirit and the letter of the rule.
- KC's View:
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It seems appropriate to have a tuna story on a day when Bill “Tuna” Parcells returns to the NFL to coach the Dallas Cowboys.
Our question is this: Who does the certifying?
Flipper?
