16 November 2017 – Consumers concerned with dolphin protection are warned: Friend of the Sea is now the only international seafood sustainability label requesting certified tuna companies to be also approved according to the Earth Island Institute strict Dolphin-Safe requirements. By contrast, the other major seafood certification program has recently recognized the only fleet still catching tuna by means of” dolphin-associated sets” as being compliant to its criteria.
Since its foundation in 1990, the Earth Island Institute Dolphin-Safe program has monitored tuna industry operators worldwide to verify that tuna is caught without setting nets on dolphins. The project was started as some fleets in the Eastern Tropical Pacific were targeting dolphins to catch tuna, killing millions of dolphins. Over the years, the synergy between the Dolphin-Safe program, the over 750 tuna companies which are now committed to Dolphin-Safe fishing practices and consumers, has led to a dramatic 99% drop in dolphin mortality in the area (watch the video here).
“Only the Earth Island Institute’s Dolphin-Safe logo and the Friend of the Sea’s label can now guarantee consumers and retailers that seafood is caught without chasing and setting nets on dolphins. to consumers. The list of approved companies is constantly updated and available on both EII’s and Friend of the Sea’s websites” explains Paolo Bray, Director of Friend of the Sea and European Director of the Dolphin-Safe program. “It is disappointing to see that seafood caught by chasing dolphins will appear in supermarkets shelves carrying sustainability claims. This is potentially misleading for consumers concerned with marine mammals’ protection and also unfair to the whole business and civil society that spent time, energy and resources implementing such improvements to achieve more ethical and sustainable fishing methods”.
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