Dolphin Safe

Dolphin Safe Certification

Protecting dolphins by prohibiting their intentional chasing or encirclement during tuna fishing. Checking fishing practices and tracing tuna through the supply chain.

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About the certification

The Earth Island Institute Dolphin Safe programme addresses how tuna is caught and handled through the supply chain. It combines commitments on fishing practices with monitoring of participating tuna businesses. Friend of the Sea provides an application route for businesses seeking Dolphin Safe assessment. Applicants can submit their seafood sourcing activities for review; buyers can verify participation through Earth Island Institute’s approved listings.

What can be certified

This page concerns the Dolphin Safe tuna programme. The application identifies the tuna products, sources and activities to be reviewed. Participation relates to the programme’s tuna-sourcing commitments, not approval of every environmental or social aspect of a business

What the standard covers

The programme checks fishing practices and the evidence connecting tuna purchases to those practices.

Tuna must not be caught by intentionally chasing, encircling or setting nets on dolphins. Releasing dolphins after deliberately netting them does not make that fishing method acceptable.
Eligible catches must meet the conditions on absence of dolphin mortality and serious injury. An accidental incident cannot simply be disregarded when determining whether the affected tuna qualifies.
Monitors review tuna procurement records and inspect vessels, storage units and canneries. These checks examine whether participating businesses purchase, process and sell tuna from sources using Dolphin Safe practices.
Catch-origin and fishing-method information support verification, alongside applicable captain and observer documentation. Monitoring arrangements depend on the fishery and operating context.
Participating businesses are also asked to prohibit shark finning on tuna vessels and release sharks and sea turtles accidentally caught in nets.

Assessment and certification

Earth Island Institute’s International Marine Mammal Project operates the monitoring programme. Assessment arrangements are confirmed for the tuna supply chain submitted. Dolphin Safe approval and Friend of the Sea certification are separate decisions.

End-brand audits are based on documentary evidence for the products to be certified, including supplier certificates, product information and traceability records. Producers and processors are assessed against the requirements relevant to their production activities. A brand that also manufactures or processes products must include those activities in its assessment.

Certification fees

Request written confirmation of the assessment costs and any applicable logo-use arrangements for your application. Dolphin Safe uses its own programme arrangements; a Friend of the Sea quotation or logo agreement should not be assumed to cover it.

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Check certification status

Check the approved business listing and confirm the tuna sourcing arrangement with the programme team.

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Frequently asked questions

No. Dolphin Safe focuses on tuna fishing practices and supply-chain commitments under Earth Island Institute’s programme. Friend of the Sea certification has a separate assessment and approved scope..
No. Intentional chasing and netting are prohibited even if the dolphins are subsequently released alive.
No. It should not be presented as a guarantee of zero bycatch. The programme also asks participants to ban shark finning and release accidentally caught sharks and turtles.
Search Earth Island Institute’s approved Dolphin Safe listings. If the business or sourcing arrangement is unclear, ask the programme team to confirm its status before relying on a claim.
No. Confirm your brand’s participation and obtain the applicable logo permission directly through the programme. A supplier’s listing is not a substitute for that authorisation.
Submit the Dolphin Safe preliminary information form with your tuna products, suppliers and activities. For programme enquiries or listing questions, contact DolphinSafe@earthisland.org.

Apply for certification

Provide your tuna products, vessel or supplier information, processing locations and trading or brand activities. The team will confirm the scope and next steps.

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Contact the team
Email the Dolphin Safe programme