Dolphin-safe labels are used to show that fishing methods follow laws or rules meant to reduce the number of dolphins that die when catching tuna for canning.

Some labels have stricter rules than others. The Dolphin Safe label started in the United States. In Europe, the term "Dolphin Friendly" is often used and means the same thing. However, in Latin America, the standards for Dolphin Safe or Dolphin Friendly tuna differ from other regions. These labels have become more controversial since they were created, especially among groups in the U.S. that focus on ocean health. This is because the Dolphin Safe label was never meant to show how sustainable tuna fishing is for the ocean. According to Greenpeace's 2017 Shopping Guide, some U.S. tuna brands with dolphin-safe labels are among the least sustainable for oceans.

In the United States, the Dolphin Safe label has legal importance under the Dolphin Protection Consumer Information Act, which is part of the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act. However, tuna companies worldwide follow these standards voluntarily, managed by Earth Island Institute, a non-governmental organization based in Berkeley, California. The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission has created an alternative Dolphin Safe label that requires 100% coverage of fishing boats by independent observers and limits dolphin deaths in the ocean. This label is mainly used in Latin America.

According to the U.S. Consumers Union, Earth Island Institute, and U.S. dolphin-safe labels do not guarantee that dolphins are not harmed during fishing because checks are not universal or independent. However, tuna boats and canneries following U.S. labeling rules are subject to surprise inspections. For U.S. imports, companies face strict penalties for breaking label rules. Earth Island Institute (EII), an independent environmental group, checks that more than 700 tuna companies outside the U.S. meet standards through inspections of canneries, storage areas, and reviews of fishing records. EII receives donations from the companies it checks. EII has not had an external scientific review of its labeling program, which is a standard practice for eco-labels. International observers are now commonly part of the Dolphin Safe verification process, being present on nearly all purse seine tuna boats in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

Background

Dolphins are often accidentally caught in fishing nets, a problem known as bycatch. More than 90,000 dolphins are estimated to die each year in tuna fisheries around the world. These deaths happen in many places globally. Scientists can only confirm how many dolphins die from tuna fishing in areas where fishing is closely monitored and observed. Dolphins swim near the surface, which makes them useful for finding tuna. Dolphin Safe labeling was created to help stop fishing boats from catching dolphins along with tuna.

In the Eastern Tropical Pacific, the tuna fishery is the only one that intentionally hunts dolphins. Since the 1950s, this practice has led to about 6 to 7 million dolphins dying in tuna nets, the largest known dolphin death event caused by humans. The Dolphin Safe program, started in the United States in 1990 and later used worldwide, has greatly reduced dolphin deaths. Official reports show about 1,000 dolphins die each year due to fishing, based on observations. However, research by the US National Marine Fisheries Service shows that chasing dolphins causes baby dolphins to separate from their group. These young dolphins often starve or are eaten by sharks while the rest of the group is trapped in nets. This hidden loss of young dolphins harms dolphin populations. Claims that chasing dolphins during tuna fishing does no harm are not supported by scientific studies.

Dolphins do not swim with Skipjack tuna, making this species the most likely to be truly "dolphin safe." However, the type of tuna used is not always listed on food cans.

Criticism

In 1990, the Earth Island Institute and tuna companies in the United States worked together to create a standard called "Dolphin Safe tuna." This standard meant that tuna could only be labeled as Dolphin Safe if it was caught without using nets that trap dolphins or come close to them. This rule was added to the Marine Mammal Protection Act later that year as the Dolphin Protection Consumer Information Act. Earth Island Institute later used this standard to make agreements with over 700 tuna companies worldwide. These companies promised to follow the rules and allowed Earth Island’s monitors to check their operations.

In 1997, Congress updated the Dolphin Safe tuna standards with the International Dolphin Conservation Program Act. This law changed the Marine Mammal Protection Act to require that no dolphins could be killed or seriously injured in a net for tuna to receive the Dolphin Safe label.

In 1999, the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission helped several nations create the Agreement on the International Dolphin Conservation Program. This agreement set rules for a different Dolphin Safe/Dolphin Friendly label used by countries that still chase and net dolphins to catch tuna. The AIDCP standard allows up to 5,000 dolphins to be killed each year in tuna nets but encourages releasing dolphins unharmed. Critics say this standard ignores the hidden deaths of baby dolphins and still causes dolphins to suffer stress, injuries, and death.

A 2008 report by Greenpeace said that the dolphin-safe label might make consumers think tuna is environmentally friendly. However, the label only shows that no dolphins were caught accidentally during fishing. It does not say whether other animals were harmed or whether the fishing method was good for the environment.

In May 2012, the World Trade Organization said the U.S. dolphin-safe label focused too much on fishing methods and only on the Eastern Tropical Pacific region. The label did not address dolphin deaths in other parts of the world. The U.S. later updated its reporting and checks to cover all oceans worldwide while keeping strict Dolphin Safe standards.

In 2013, the Campaign for Eco-Safe Tuna started a movement to stop using the dolphin-safe label in the U.S. This group, made up of activists and some tuna fishing companies and governments in Latin America, supports using the AIDCP label instead. The AIDCP label is now used in the following places: Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, European Union, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, United States, and Venezuela.

Tuna consumption has decreased since the dolphin-safe issue became widely known in 1989. Some people say this is because strict U.S. laws have made tuna less available or lower quality.

The effect of dolphin-safe standards on tuna prices is uncertain. Prices have gone down over time, but critics say prices would have dropped even more without these standards.

Early on, Earth Island Institute added rules to protect sea turtles and sharks with its tuna company partners. In 1996, Earth Island suggested that sea turtles caught in tuna nets should be released, a rule now used by all international tuna fishing groups. Earth Island also banned shark finning on tuna fishing boats, a rule slowly being adopted by other groups.

The dolphin-safe labeling program has been criticized for not telling consumers about other animals caught accidentally in tuna nets. Critics say environmental groups use the "cuteness" of dolphins to raise money and attention for the program, even though tuna fishing accidentally harms many other species. Over a million sharks, hundreds of thousands of wahoo and dorado, thousands of marlin, and many mola mola die each year from being caught accidentally. These losses harm the environment, but efforts by tuna fishermen and groups like the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation are helping reduce accidental catches.

Trade groups, industry organizations, and environmental groups have criticized Earth Island’s program in the U.S. and other countries. This program relies mostly on fishing captains’ self-reported claims that no dolphins were harmed. Critics say the Dolphin Safe label does not mean tuna is sustainable and has been used to sell tuna that may have harmed dolphins and other sea life. This issue has caused economic and diplomatic problems between the U.S. and Mexico. The U.S. ban on certain tuna fishing methods has hurt fishing communities like Ensenada.

World Trade Organization

In 2008, Mexico brought complaints to the World Trade Organization (WTO) about U.S. import restrictions and the use of dolphin-safe labeling on tuna products. Mexico took the issue to the WTO’s dispute resolution system, and the case was given the short name "US-Tuna II (Mexico)."

Two reports were published about the unfair treatment in U.S. laws related to dolphin-safe labels. The WTO Panel Report was released on September 15, 2011, and the WTO’s Appellate Body Report was released on May 16, 2012.

The U.S. government disagreed with these decisions and worked to improve the Dolphin Safe program to address WTO concerns while keeping the label standards strong.

On November 20, 2015, the WTO Appellate Body ruled against the United States.

The U.S. continues to disagree with the WTO’s claims, stating that its Dolphin Safe standards offer greater protection for dolphins than other standards promoted by Mexico and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (a group focused on tuna fishing). The U.S. also improved the review process for Dolphin Safe tuna in other regions.

Many environmental groups criticized the WTO for prioritizing free trade over environmental protection, such as dolphin conservation.

In January 2019, the WTO ruled in favor of the United States, stating that the dolphin-safe labeling met WTO rules.

Countries of usage

Some Australian tuna brands claim to be "Dolphin Safe" or "Dolphin Friendly." Dolphins usually do not swim with tuna in areas where tuna is mainly caught for sale in Australia.

Most canned tuna sold in the UK is labeled as dolphin-safe because the UK market mostly uses skipjack tuna. Skipjack tuna is not linked to the problem of dolphins being accidentally caught in nets, which happens with yellowfin tuna from the Eastern Tropical Pacific that is sold in the USA. The issues in the UK focus on preventing tuna from being sold if it could harm dolphins, while the issues in the USA involve fixing problems that already happened.

The dolphin-safe movement in the USA began when environmental and consumer groups worked to stop the use of total encirclement netting. This method involved surrounding dolphin groups and tuna with large nets, leaving dolphins unable to escape before the nets were pulled up. This caused many dolphins to be killed, putting some dolphin species at risk of disappearing, especially in the Eastern Tropical Pacific.

In 1990, the USA passed the Dolphin Protection Consumer Information Act (DPCIA). This law had three main rules:
• Preventing dolphins from being caught in purse seine nets.
• Setting rules for labels on tuna sold in or imported to the USA.
• Imposing penalties for not following the rules.

This law protected dolphins in US waters, but tuna companies could still buy tuna from other countries. This meant the USA regulations could not guarantee that tuna sold in the USA was dolphin-safe. However, the USA has strict rules for checking tuna imports, including requiring reports from independent observers on fishing boats and strong laws to prevent false claims about tuna being dolphin-safe.