1996_03 Insight March 1966

              MARCH 20,1996
In Focus
Dolphins, from page 1
Marc Silver reported
News and World Report article that
approximately I fK).(XX) dolphins died
in 1990 because of tuna fishing.
Murphy said dolphins are trapped
in tuna nets because they arc "a
fisherman's convenience. A few feet
beneath, them swims the real object
of the hunt; a huge school of yellow-
fin tuna, which for reasons that baffle
scientists, often congregate below
pods of dolphins."
One way thai fishennen trap the
tuna is to spread purse seine nets
around dolphins.
"It's easier than waiting to spoi a
school of tuna," Silver said.
Purse seine netting is a method
in which fishermen cast a large net
around a school of tuna and then
pull it laut like the drawstring of a
Because dolphins are air-breathers,
many of ihem drown when they become entangled in the nets beneath
the surface.
In 1990. faced with a growing
consumer boycott of iheir product,
the three largest U.S. sellers of
canned tuna said "Ihey would no
longer sell tuna caught by methods
harmful to dolphins," according to
a Time magazine article published
that year.
Anthony O'Reilly, chairman of H.J.
Heinz, led the campaign. Heinz owns
Star-Kist.
He said the company "will not purchase any tuna caught in association
w ith dolphins."
Van Camp Seafood, which sells
Chicken of ihe Sea. and Bumble Bee
Seafoods matched Star-Kist's promise.
Daniel Sullivan, president of
Bumble Bee Seafoods, said. "Canned
tuna is good for you. and we w am
to continue to sell as much as we
Sorry, Charlie!
No Dolpins Allowed
In 1990, faced
with a growing
consumer boycott of
their product, the three
largest U.S. sellers of canned
tuna said "they would no longer sell
tuna caught by methods harmful to
dolphins,"according to a Time magazine
article published that year.
vessel and an authorized representative certify lhat "there was an observer approved by the International Dolphin Conservation Program on board the vessel during the
entire trip and that no dolphins were
killed during the sets in which the
tuna were caught."
Opponents of the bill say a law
based on "observed" dolphin mortality would be misleading.
Environmental organization
Earth Island Institute said. "Even
dolphins that are not killed in nets
are subjected to chase by highspeed powerboats and to entrapment in nets, sometimes as often as
three limes in a single day.
"Growing evidence suggests thc
physiological repercussions of this
repeated stress and social disruption, as well as the opportunity for
young dolphins to become separated from their mothers, may cause
mortality which would never be ob-
Legislaiors quickly followed
the companies' lead and passed
the Dolphin Protection and Consumer Information Act of 1991.
authored by Sen. Barbara Boxer.
D-Calif.. and Sen. Joseph Biden.
D-Md.
This act established an official definition of dolphin safe,
which "prohibits all chasing,
capturing and setting of nets on
dolphins."
Now in 1996. Alaska Sen. Ted
Stevens — a leader of Republican efforts to roll back environmental regulations — has gained the
support of thc Clinton administration.
He also has the support of several
environmental organizations, including the Environmental Defense Fund
and ihe World Wildlife Federation.
Stevens is attempting to lift embargoes against tuna caught using
methods considered harmful lo dolphins.
He has introduced Senate Bill 1420.
titled the International Dolphin Conservation Program Act. in an effort to
redefine "dolphin safe.
encircling dolphins with purse
seine nets, with the provision (hat
no "observed" dolphin mortality
occurred.
Sen. Stevens' bill further allows for
tuna caught using this method to be
labeled dolphin safe.
But Boxer and Biden. backed by
environmental organizations like the
Sierra Club, the Humane Society and
Friends of the Earth, are continuing
their fight lo maintain embargoes
against fishermen who encircle dolphins.
Their competing bill. S1460. titled
the International Dolphin Protection
and Consumer Information Act of
1995. would maintain the ban on tuna
caught using purse seine nets.
Jodi Linker, a legislative correspondent on environmental issues for Sen.
Boxer, said lhal the Boxer-Biden bill
reaffirms the current dolphin-safe
standard, which prohibits the encirclement of dolphins.
Glenn Merrill, legislative analyst for the Senate Committee on
Commerce. Science and Transportation thai is assigned to examine the bills said. "In the Boxer
bill, there won't be categorizing
as dolphin safe if there's any
catching of dolphins. The
Stevens" bill basically gets rid of
that labeling."
In the end. it may be the consumers, rather than the legisla-
_^_^ tors, making the final decision on
- Glen/1 Merrill, legislative     what dolphin sale means
analyst for the Senate     ™f. "J* "£-5"*? °[
J    J canned tuna, concerned that the
new legislation may cause an-
;r consumer backlash against
In the Boxer bill, there
won 7 be categorizing as
dolphin safe if there's any
catching of dolphins. The
Stevens' bill basically gets rid
of that labeling."
rved."
Dolphins with injuries like tom fins
or broken jaws that are vulnerable to
shark predation would not be counted
as "observed" dolphin mortalities, the
institute said.
It further maintains lhal "if dolphins
are killed, bul the dead dolphins are
not "observed killed' because of
rough seas, poor visibility, darkness,
observer error or cheating, then the
tuna would still be considered "dolphin safe.'"
However, in 1994. supporters of
IfS 1420 becomes law, dolphin-safe    S1420 say lhat mortality
labeling will apply lo "tuna caught in
a set in which no dolphin mortality
occurred, rather than tuna caught
other than through thc encirclement
of dolphins," according to thc Center
for Marine Conservation, which supports the bill.
S1420 stipulates that a tuna prod-
:t is dolphin safe if written s
reduced annually to below
5.000.
SI420 supporters say luna fishermen will resume their previous bad
habits without the recognition of their
dolphin-conservation efforts through
thc lifting of embargoes on tuna
caught by setting nets.
SI420 allows the importation
their products, have begun i
public statements reaffirming their
commitment to helping protect dolphins.
Star-Kist issued a press release Feb.
29 announcing its continuing commitment to its dolphin-safe policy, which
"was the result of extensive research
and discussion among leading environmental groups."
According to the release. "(Star-
Kistl is always open to new information, technology and idcas.which will
further protect the environment while
maintaining the spirit of its dolphin-
safe policy.
"Star-Kist will continue to listen to
and honor the wishes of its consumers regarding this important environmental issue."
Van Camp Seafood has also recently issued a statement saying the
company '"does not intend lo change
s dolphin-safe policy even is the pig
ments provided by the captain of a    tuna caught through the process of    posed legislation is passed."
District 7, from page 1
ticket."
He gels very serious when it comes
to focusing on Asians only.
'"Reporters ask me nothing but
about Asians. I don't want to play
their games. I'm too strong for that."
he said. "Wc live in a diversified culture. It's nice and beautiful to keep
our culture, but we have to learn other
cultures as well."
The biggest challenge for Vang is
being young. Thc Asian community
looks for someone older to run for
office.
"We shouldn't look at thc age, but
rather at the quality the person has and
can do." he said. "I believe that I probably know more about government
politics than some of the older generations."
Pham said everything he does is a
challenge. His main problem is getting people to listen to him.
"If you give me a chance or opportunity," he said. "I will make you
understand why I'm the one you
should vote for."
-*► He feels confident that he is ready
for city council. He believes his two-
year community involvement with the
Vietnamese Association has proven
his ability. He has been its youngest
president in the last 20 years.
He writes the newsletters, sets up
events and deals with people constantly.
Over the Christmas season, there
was a lot of dissension in the community over where to hold the Hmong
New Year.
Disagreements between the Hmong
council and the National Council divided the community.
Fresno County ended up having
two celebrations, one in Fresno and
ihe other in Hanford.
Despite this intra-community gap.
Vang feels that too many people believe that non-profit organizations can
solve a lot of problems.
He said they are of great help to the
people and he respects them for the
services they offer, but they are not
the solution.
"They are social services. What
they do is very good, but this country
is governed by law. When it comes to
the law, these organizations don't
have the power," Vang said.
Crime and jobs are top-priority
issues for Vang. He plans to work
with each of the different community leaders to create more neighborhood watches and street associations.
Pham's top issue is safety. He said
without safety, people will not want
to live where they are and businesses
will not prosper.
People must stand up and fight for
the right to live where they want to,
Pham said. You should have a choice
to live in comfort, not in fear.
An estimated 55,000 Southeast
Asians live in Fresno County and
about 30,000 live in the city of Fresno,
said Cha Vang, executive director of
the Hmong-American Chamber of
Commerce.
The largest group is Hmong. with
approximately 26,000. Election officials estimated that fewer than 10.000
Southeast Asians are registered lo
vole irj Fresno County.
This is partly because 80 percent
ol" the population is under 18. said
Ernie Velasquez, director of Fresno
County"s Department of Social Ser-
Bascd on census figures, the ethnic breakdown of District 7 is 34.8
percent Hispanic; 39.5 percent Caucasian; 20.1 percent Asian-American:
4.3 percent African-A.merican; 0.8
percent American Indian and 0.5 percent '"other."
Both candidates feel that regardless
of the outcome, it's a win-w in situa-
Pham said he will continue to work
with the community no matter what
the result of the election.
"What I'm doing here is building
thc base for the youth, who in the long
term are thinking about politics,"
Vang said. "I'm hitting the wall as
hard as I can. so they don't have to
hit it"
He said that if campaigners worked
as hard in office as they did running •
for office, there would be no communication problems.
"When you campaign, you meet the
public and get to know them." Vang
said. "Right now, when you call City
Hall, you don't even get your councilman, you get someone else."
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