Eco Group Says Proposed Tuna Labeling Rules Still Inadequate
U.S. implementation of a World Trade Organization ruling on the use of the dolphin-safe label on tuna products doesn't go far enough, said the Campaign for Eco-Safe Tuna. The group said the current dolphin-safe label fails to adequately ensure consumers that no dolphins were harmed in the capture of tuna bearing the label. While the draft regulations proposed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Department of Commerce acknowledge this reality, they don't protect dolphins or provide consumers with accurate information, the campaign said.
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The WTO decided last year that the U.S. dolphin-safe label does not inform consumers about the killing of dolphins in any of the world's tuna fisheries other than the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) Ocean, "even if dolphins have in fact been killed or seriously injured during the trip," the group said, and the NOAA draft regulations don't rectify the problem.