Tuna, Dolphins, and Purse Seine Fishing in the Eastern Tropical Pacific: The Controversy Continues

Abstract

Like peace, the real work of saving the ocean is not only carried out in diplomatic chambers and government offices. It is carried out in the hearts and hands of the people. (2) INTRODUCTION: DOLPHIN DEATHS AND THE MARINE MAMMAL PROTECTION ACT During the early 1970's, a historic peak in the environmental movement, fueled by public outrage and activism, resulted in the passage of several new U.S. laws designed to protect the environment. Congress enacted the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) (3) in 1972 to address, among many problems concerning marine mammals, the large number of dolphins killed by the purse seine method of fishing for yellowfin tuna in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean (ETP), (4) a 5 to 7 million square-mile area of ocean that extends roughly from Southern California to the Chilean coastline, and west to Hawaii. (5) The MMPA established a moratorium on the taking (or killing) and importation of marine mammals, including dolphins, except those taken incidentally during commercial fishing operations. (6) Recent MMPA amendments reiterated the fundamental views of Americans and the original intent of Congress that marine mammals have proven themselves to be resources of great international significance, esthetic and recreational as well as economic, and it is the sense of the Congress that they should be protected ... (7) It was the voice of an entire nation that pressured Congress to enact the MMPA, but it was the acts of one man that brought public attention to the decimation of dolphin populations in the ETP as a result of the yellowfin tuna industry's fishing practices. In 1988, American marine biologist Sam LaBudde undertook a daring and dangerous mission: he enlisted as a cook on a Panamanian tuna vessel and secretly filmed purse seine fishing activities. (8) LaBudde was the first person to successfully capture this slaughter on film. (9) LaBudde's widely publicized images depict the brutal annihilation of dolphins then commonplace in purse seine fishing. (10) LaBudde's pictures were the catalyst for a shifting debate regarding dolphins and the ETP purse seine tuna fishing industry. (11) In the beginning, it was purely a domestic dispute concerned with the large number of dolphin deaths. After the MMPA and its amendments successfully lowered dolphin mortality rates, the debate's focus shifted. The issues of recovery of dolphin populations, protection of marine biodiversity, international relations, and consumer fraud now largely replaced dolphin mortality as the debate's central issues. (12) The debate also broadened from a domestic outlook to an international one with the passage of treaties such as the La Jolla Agreement and the Panama Declaration. Along with this shift in focus, a schism has occurred in the previously united environmental community. Several environmental groups backed what they believe to be a workable balance between the economics of fishing and dolphin mortality. Other organizations taken a hard line approach against any dolphin mortality and brought lawsuits against the U.S. government challenging legislation ratifying recent international agreements. This paper will provide a history of the tuna-dolphin debate, beginning with an analysis of the tuna-dolphin relationship. A chronological overview of both domestic and international legislative developments regarding ETP purse seine fishing follows. Finally, two recent court cases, Brower v. Evans (13) and Defenders of Wildlife v. Hogarth, (14) are discussed and analyzed for their potential impact on the continuing debate. TUNA, DOLPHINS, AND PURSE SEINE NETS IN THE ETP Yellowfin tuna is the most economically significant tuna species caught in the ETP. (15) Yellowfin can grow to be 6 feet long (180 cm), and generally weigh anywhere from 11 to 44 pounds (5 to 20 kg). (16) Their size makes yellowfin well fit for solid packing in cans and causes the market demand to be greater for yellowfin than it is for other fish species. …