Mexico and US Go at it Again Over Dolphin-Labeling and Tuna

From the Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest....

The long-running dispute between the US and Mexico over Washington’s ‘dolphin safe’ labelling practice for tuna products is likely to see a WTO appeal, after the two parties together asked for an extension of the appeals deadline. Meanwhile, animal welfare and consumer advocacy groups in Washington are urging the US to look into options outside the global trade body for resolving the trade row.

WTO appeals deadline extended to January

At its last meeting on 11 November, the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) decided to extend the deadline for submitting an appeal on the latest Tuna-Dolphin (DS381) ruling issued in September (see Bridges Weekly, 21 September 2011).

.....Washington had partially lost its claim in this high-stakes dispute over the US “dolphin safe” label for tuna products when a panel ruled the US practice unnecessarily trade restrictive (for further analysis on the tuna-dolphin case, see Bridges Trade BioRes Review, November 2011).

Sharecropping the Oceans

As someone who used to work for a seafood company, I can tell you these monstrosities are just pillaging our oceans with no care about anything. All the life in the ocean is simply raw materials for products. I don't know how many cases of shrimp, squid, salmon, etc. I had to order dumped because of expiration issues. All that life for nothing. And they just keep bringing in more of it.

Short-term profit for short-term gain. It's a rape of the seas, but this article is more polite by calling it a "sharecropping." Big companies using little guys to do their dirty work for them, but the end result is the same. Lost sea life and a bleak future for the oceans.

Wildlife Federation President Resigns Over Poaching

This is pretty funny.

The president of the Quebec Wildlife Federation, an organization that encourages outdoorsmen to be RESPONSIBLE, resigned yesterday after he was charged with POACHING.

Alain Gagnon is to appear in court in Roberval today {January 24} to face a charge of exceeding the limit on speckled trout when fishing with relatives north of Lac St. Jean, northwest of Quebec City, last July....

The 53-year old angler is also accused of interfering with the work of a wildlife enforcement officer by releasing the catch back into the water...

Gagnon was re-elected president of the Quebec Wildlife Federation in April 2007. The organization states on its website that one of its priorities is "TO PROMOTE AND ENCOURAGE FISHERMEN TO ACT RESPONSIBLY."

DOH!

Photo by jpear34.

Last Great Tuna Fishery in Danger

I worked as an accountant for a half-billion dollar seafood company in the United States. One of the company's top finfish sales was tuna "product." So, believe me, I know that the amount of waste in the seafood industry is outstanding. Overharvesting is just the tip of the iceberg.

Delegates from over 40 countries began meeting Monday {today} at a Pacific fisheries conference in Guam amid warning signs the world's last great tuna fishery is heading for crisis.

Some argue the western and central Pacific fishery -- which supplies over half the world's tuna -- is in trouble already.

Attempts to improve conservation measures will be put to the five-day meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, which includes delegates from Pacific nations and major fishing countries.

....The commission believes the two most endangered species -- yellowfin and bigeye -- need a reprieve if the fishery is to remain sustainable.

The bigeye catch needs to be reduced by 25 percent and yellowfin by 10 percent, commission executive director Andrew Wright told AFP.

Skipjack is usually caught in nets by sophisticated purse-seine fishing vessels from countries including Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea and other so called distant water fishing nations.

The purse-seiners accounted for 72 percent of the total catch in the region last year.

But the purse-seiners -- some modern hi-tech vessels are capable of catching up to 10,000 tonnes annually -- also catch large numbers of juvenile yellowfin and bigeye as bycatch.

Long-line boats capable of reeling out massive lines carrying thousands of baited hooks catch most of the mature bigeye and yellowfin, which are sold at premium prices on the fresh tuna market.

Greenpeace argues the commission has under-estimated the impact of illegal and unreported fishing.

Photo by antisocial_001.