The Clinton administration’s attempt to loosen standards for “dolphin-safe” tuna has been blocked by a federal judge, preventing the label from being used on cans of tuna caught with nets that snare dolphins. Several enviro groups had filed suit in August after the Commerce Department proposed a change in the dolphin-safe labeling standards, which would let fleets use huge encircling purse-seine nets as long as the dolphins caught in the nets are set free. The judge ruled that the department failed to assess whether repeatedly capturing and releasing dolphins has any impact on dolphin populations. The enviro groups that filed the suit, including Earth Island Institute, say the standards were improperly loosened to allow fishing fleets from Latin American countries to sell their tuna in the U.S. But other enviro groups, including Greenpeace, support the labeling change as a way to foster international cooperation on dolphin protection.
