WWF regularly support actions aiming at reducing dolphin and cetacean mortality in fisheries. For many years, the Conservation organization and other international environmental associations, in particular Greenpeace International, have worked on this issue, supporting the AIDCP – the Agreement on the International Dolphin Conservation Program.
The IATTC – the Inter American Tropical Tuna Commission is one of the oldest regional fisheries organizations of the world and has been working on the tuna dolphin issue to reduce dolphin mortality in the Eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO) since the early seventies. In 1992 the La Jolla Agreement was ratified, which aimed at reducing dolphin by-catch and in 1999 the AIDCP was established, providing a dolphin safe certification scheme.
The total mortality of dolphins in the fishery has been reduced from about 132,000 in 1986 to less than 1,500 in 2002, i.e. about 0.02% of the population. This was achieved thanks to monitoring and scientific support from the IATTC, and also thanks to the commitment of the fishing industry and crews, skippers, and governments. WWF acknowledge that such result is outstanding and that the AIDCP is the best hope for continued reductions in dolphin mortality in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
The IATTC scientific program is one of the best amongst all tuna fishery management bodies as its time series data and data quality control protocols. Today, any scientific research project that wishes to address the condition of the tuna or dolphin populations within the EPO fishery context should include and rely on the information from the IATTC.
WWF has carefully evaluated the science and the available data of dolphin mortality and relies on the scientific evidence provided by IATTC and US National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). In particular, as the report of NMFS states, direct mortality caused by the fishery does not have a significant adverse impact on any depleted dolphin stock, and the only quantifiable scientific data on levels of indirect mortality show that the fishery is not having a significant adverse impact on any depleted dolphin stock. What still has to be demonstrated in the EPO is the effect of the reduction of dolphin mortality due to other programs or labels.
The AIDCP certification guarantees that no dolphin died or was seriously injured in the capture of tuna thanks to a fully transparent, verifiable and multilateral tracking system made up of more than 200 observers, the full force of law and governments in the member countries. The monitoring program of the IATTC and AIDCP is the only one in the world to provide almost 100% observer coverage on the tuna vessels above 363 metric tons, this is the best warranty of reliable scientific data and of dolphin safe certification.
WWF is aware that there are infractions in some of the IATTC member countries and has already stressed the need for a better enforcement. However the decrease of possible infractions from an average of 636 cases to 209 cases, in 2002 compared to the three previous years, is a very positive pattern that shows how compliance is rapidly increasing. This pattern has to be supported in order to reach a full enforcement of the IATTC regulations.
In the last 10 years the IATTC has achieved the best dolphin by-catch reduction worldwide. Attacking the IATTC in a non proactive way, may weaken the Commission and this would just mean going 30 years backwards with a new raise of dolphin mortality and an unmanaged tuna fishery.
In Italy, following WWF, Legambiente and Marevivo-the other major Environmental NGO’s, together with AGCI Pesca and Legapesca-the two biggest fishermen associations, have taken an unprecedented and common position in support of the AIDCP dolphin safe certification. These Associations, after an accurate evaluation of the science, of the IATTC and of the warranties that the AIDCP and the IATTC are providing, have decided to support it. Interestingly also the European Community, which is a Member of the AIDCP, consider the AIDCP a reliable and transparent system, as it has endorsed a mandatory tuna tracking and verification system, Council Regulation (EC) Nº 882/2003, which complies with the AIDCP system and is currently considering the adoption of the AIDCP dolphin safe label as the standard.
The position of WWF with the other Italian Environmental and Fishermen Associations is the position of the whole WWF network. WWF has been supporting the AIDCP for many years because believes this is the best way to protect dolphins, non target species and tuna, and will therefore continue supporting this program that has achieved a unique 98% reduction of dolphin mortality in the EPO.
Source: WWF Press Release
