INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY (5/30/97) The Dolphin Death Act, S.39 by Senators Ted Stevens (R-AK) and John Breaux (D-LA), will be coming up for a vote on the Senate floor this summer. S.39 was developed by the government and tuna fishing industry of Mexico, with the support of the Clinton Administration and the Wise-Use Movement. If approved by the Senate, S.39 would virtually REPEAL U.S. dolphin protection laws. The House companion bill, H.R.408, was recently approved by the Republican-dominated House of Representatives. YOUR HELP IS NEEDED! S.39 repeals current embargoes on import and sale of tuna caught by mile-long purse seine nets, which drown thousands of dolphins each year. Furthermore, the legislation would change the definition of "dolphin-safe" tuna to allow chase, injury, netting, harassment, and killing of dolphins, as long as an observer does not report any dolphins dying outright. This false "dolphin-safe" definition constitutes consumer fraud of the highest order, all to placate the tuna fleets of Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela. The legislation would also allow U.S. tuna fleets to again set the deadly nets on schools of dolphins. Over the past four decades, more than 7 million dolphins have been killed in tuna nets, which are used deliberately to target schools of dolphins to catch the tuna that swim beneath. Earth Island Institute and other organizations launched an international boycott of tuna in 1988 to stop the killing of dolphins by the tuna industry. In 1990, the three largest American tuna companies announced that they would no longer accept tuna caught by methods known to harm dolphins. Congress quickly followed up, outlawing the import and sale of tuna caught by netting dolphins. The U.S. market is now 100% dolphin-safe; Canada, Europe, and Australia are also almost entirely dolphin-safe, covering more than 90% of the world's canned tuna markets. Observed deaths of dolphins in the tuna fishery have dropped from more than 100,000 annually in the late 1980's to only 2,574 last year. In addition to undercutting years of progress in dolphin protection efforts, S.39 would unwittingly benefit the drug trade in Latin America. The two largest cocaine busts in maritime history happened aboard two tuna fishing vessels in 1995 and 1996, amounting to tons of cocaine destined for offloading in Mexico for shipment across the U.S. border. Evidence is mounting that major portions of the tuna industry have been bought by the notorious Cali Cartel and Mexican drug gangs, including the Tijuana cartel. The Dolphin Death Act was defeated in Congress last year, through the filibuster threat of Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and thousands of activists like you! Now the bill is back, and we need to defeat it once again. Why are the Clinton Administration and members of Congress supporting the repeal of U.S. dolphin protection laws and opening a pipeline for the deadly cocaine trade of Colombia and Mexico? Will they sacrifice dolphins on the altar of free trade? YOU CAN HELP! We need a flood of phone calls, faxes, and e-mail sent to members of the U.S. Senate, urging them to oppose S.39, the Dolphin Death Act! If you do not know who your member of Congress is, contact your local Registrar of Voters or City Hall. Information on contacting individual members of Congress is available on the Internet (check the Planet Ark web page, for example, for information on contacting members of Congress on this issue.) The Capitol Switchboard number is (202) 224-3121 -- ask to be connected with your Senator's office. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!! CALL EARTH ISLAND INSTITUTE (415) 788-3666 FOR ADDITIONAL INFO., OR SEND E-MAIL TO DR. KEN MARTEN AT EARTHTRUST IN HAWAII.

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