Almost twenty years ago, the Mexican exports of tuna products to United States (US), its main market, dropped 80% over one year and never really recovered. The reason for such a sharp fall was the tuna/dolphin ban imposed by the US government on Mexican tuna products, due their association with dolphin mortality.

Mexico is a country with over 50 years of fishing tradition. Since 1960, over 3 million M/T of tuna have been caught. Today, the country has 584 vessels in the East Pacific Ocean fishing tuna under its flag.

The numbers of the country’s catches show ups and downs for the past nine years. Even though last year’s catches had a 10% recovery from 2006 reaching 113.090 M/T, between 2005-2006, catches had gone down 33%. Until August 2008, Mexican vessels have caught 82.373 M/T of tuna, being responsible for 58% of yellowfin catches in the EPO.

The tuna/dolphin ban, imposed by the US in 1991, was never fully accepted by Mexico. In an article published on the National Commission of Aquaculture and Fisheries (Conapesca), the Mexican government claims that most of dolphin deaths related to tuna fishing were caused by the American fleet. In addition, it reinforces their support in fishing tuna, specifically yellowfin, along dolphin schools in a way to protect the other marine life species, which can be harmed with the use of Fishing Aggregating Devices (FADs).

The dolphin mortality associated with tuna fishing was a major environmental problem in the 80’s. However, the numbers from the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) show that, since 1994, the amount of dolphin deaths in the East Pacific Ocean are extremely reduced, reaching 0,01% of the dolphin population nowadays.

Based on the National Marine Fisheries Service research, in 2002, the American government canceled the main requirement which was stopping Mexican tuna from entering the US market: the necessity of having the Dolphin Safe certificate, granted by Earth Island Institute (EII). In 2003, supported by EII, a judge from California canceled the previous decision and the ban on tuna fishing -associated with dolphin schools- remained. 

According to Mario Aguilar, the representative of Conapesca in Washington D.C., not labeling as “dolphin safe” the tuna caught in association with dolphins, even though near-zero mortality of this mammal was registered, made fishermen decide to switch to the use of FADs instead. The consequences were a severe damage to the environment, leading IATTC to propose temporary tuna bans to prevent the total exploitation of the stocks and reduce the by-catch of juvenile tuna caused by this method.

Aguilar said that even with all the threats that American retailers received from EII, while commercializing tuna caught in association with dolphins, Mexican tuna exports to the US market have never completely ceased. The numbers started to go up in 2001 with a surprising 116% growth to 2.820 M/T. The following years showed a good recovery until 2005 with 5.242 M/T, when tuna exports to America started to drop again, reaching 4.625 M/T last year.

This year’s export data have showed that from January to June of 2008 the Latin American country exported 1.814 M/T of tuna to the US, a 30% fall from the same period last year.

Mexican exports to the European Union (EU) haven’t been very considerable in the past three years. In 2006, 6.181 M/T of Mexican tuna was destined to European markets. The following year showed a significant reduction, with 793 M/T. However, last year the recovery was very surprising: 4.868 M/T of tuna to EU – 613% more. Most of the tuna products exported to Europe are frozen fish and a small portion of tuna fillets.

The alternative the Mexican tuna industry found to compensate for the loss of the US market was to encourage the tuna consumption within the national market. Most of the catches associated to dolphin schools are now directed to the internal market and the consumption numbers are around 110.000 M/T a year.

“It’s insensible to say that there are no problems anymore. There is a huge problem, a problem of the US versus 17% of the Latin American fleet and the fish caught in association with dolphins. The reason US retailers don’t buy Mexican tuna is not because they are concerned about the reaction of the consumers, but because they are afraid of EII”, Aguilar finalizes.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) stated that: “it’s absolutely unnecessary that all tuna products have the Dolphin Safe label to be commercialized in American ground”; “in order to import yellowfin tuna caught with a purse seine in the EPO, the tuna harvesting nation must obtain from the National Marine Fisheries Service an affirmative finding that the nation is meeting its obligations under the Agreement on the International Dolphin Conservation Program (AIDCP) and obligations of membership in the IATTC (…) Mexico currently has an affirmative finding and may freely export EPO purse-seine caught yellowfin tuna to the US, subject to some documentary requirements”.

The officials of NOAA continued: “Actually, the trend in recent years has shown a steady increase of imports of Mexican tuna. This includes imported Mexican tuna from the EPO harvested by purse seine vessels fishing in association with dolphins in adherence to the AIDCP regime for the conservation of dolphins. So although it may not bear a US Dolphin-Safe label in the US market, it is free to be imported, marketed and sold in the United States”.

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