[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 130 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 130
To amend the labeling requirements of the Dolphin Protection Consumer
Information Act, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 9, 2003
Mrs. Boxer (for herself, Mr. Biden, Mr. Hollings, Mr. Kerry, and Ms.
Cantwell) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the labeling requirements of the Dolphin Protection Consumer
Information Act, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Truth in Tuna Labeling Act of
2003''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that:
(1) Consumers have the right to know whether the tuna that
they purchase was caught using technologies that kill, harass,
adversely impact, or endanger dolphins, porpoises, and whales.
(2) The provisions of the Dolphin Protection Consumer
Information Act that require ``dolphin safe'' labeling have
served as an incentive to reduce dolphin mortalities.
(3) According to the Annual Report of the Marine Mammal
Commission and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission,
dolphin mortality has decreased from more than 100,000 dolphin
kills each year to fewer than 2,000 kills each year since the
passage of the ``dolphin safe'' label requirements in 1990.
(4) In 1997, Congress began to erode the ``dolphin safe''
label, creating exceptions that permit purse seine netting in
the Eastern Tropical Pacific and other destructive fishing
practices to be used during tuna fishing. On December 31, 2002,
the Secretary of Commerce decided to permit tuna caught using
these destructive practices to be labeled ``dolphin safe'', a
decision that will blatantly mislead the American public. The
Secretary's decision will result in an estimated 20,000 to
40,000 dolphin deaths each year.
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE DOLPHIN PROTECTION CONSUMER INFORMATION ACT.
The Dolphin Protection Consumer Information Act (16 U.S.C. 1385) is
amended--
(1) by striking subsections (d) through (h); and
(2) by inserting the following:
``(d) Labeling Standard.--It is a violation of section 5 of the
Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45) for any producer, importer,
exporter, distributor, or seller of any tuna product that is exported
from or offered for sale in the United States to include on the label
of that product the term `Dolphin Safe' or any other term or symbol
that claims or suggests that the tuna contained in the product was
harvested using a method of fishing that is not harmful to dolphins if
the tuna product contains tuna harvested--
``(1) on the high seas by a vessel engaged in driftnet
fishing;
``(2) outside the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean by a
vessel using purse seine nets--
``(A) in a fishery in which the Secretary has
determined that a regular and significant association
occurs between dolphins and tuna (similar to the
association between dolphins and tuna in the eastern
tropical Pacific Ocean), unless such product is
accompanied by a written statement, executed by the
captain of the vessel and an observer participating in
a national or international program acceptable to the
Secretary, certifying that no purse seine net was
intentionally deployed on dolphins or used to encircle
dolphins and that no dolphins were intentionally chased
or harassed during the particular voyage on which the
tuna were caught and no dolphins were killed or
seriously injured in the sets in which the tuna were
caught; or
``(B) in any other fishery (other than a fishery
described in paragraph (3)) unless the product is
accompanied by a written statement executed by the
captain of the vessel certifying that no purse seine
net was intentionally deployed on or used to encircle
dolphins during the particular voyage on which the tuna
was harvested;
``(3) by a vessel in a fishery other than one described in
paragraph (1), (2) or (4) that is identified by the Secretary
as having a regular and significant mortality or serious injury
of dolphins, unless such product is accompanied by a written
statement executed by the captain of the vessel and an observer
participating in a national or international program acceptable
to the Secretary that no dolphins were killed or seriously
injured in the sets or other gear deployments in which the tuna
were caught, provided that the Secretary determines that such
an observer statement is necessary; or
``(4) except as provided in subsection (e), in the eastern
tropical Pacific Ocean by a vessel using purse seine nets.
``(e) Special Requirements.--A tuna product that contains tuna
harvested in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean by a fishing vessel
using purse seine nets may include on the label of that product the
term `Dolphin Safe' or other term or symbol that claims or suggests
that the tuna contained in the product was harvested using a method of
fishing that is not harmful to dolphins if--
``(1) the vessel that harvested the tuna is of a type and
size that the Secretary has determined is not capable of
deploying its purse seine nets on dolphins or to encircle
dolphins; or
``(2) the tuna product is accompanied by a written
statement--
``(A)(i) executed by the captain of the vessel
which harvested the tuna certifying that no tuna were
caught on the trip in which such tuna were harvested
using a purse seine net intentionally deployed on
dolphins or to encircle dolphins, that no dolphins were
intentionally chased or harassed in connection with the
trip, and that no dolphins were killed or seriously
injured during the sets in which the tuna were caught;
or
``(ii) which states that an approved observer was
on board the vessel during the entire trip in which
such tuna were harvested and that purse seine nets were
not intentionally deployed on dolphins or to encircle
dolphins, that no dolphins were intentionally chased or
harassed in connection with the trip, and that no
dolphins were killed or seriously injured during the
sets in which the tuna were caught and that is executed
by--
``(I) the Secretary;
``(II) a representative of the Inter-
American Tropical Tuna Commission; or
``(III) an authorized representative of a
country that is a signatory to the Agreement on
the International Dolphin Conservation Program,
done at Washington May 21, 1998, whose observer
program has been approved by the Inter-American
Tropical Tuna Commission or the Secretary; and
``(B) that is endorsed in writing by each exporter,
importer, and processor of the tuna product.''.
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The amendments made by section 3 shall take effect on December 30,
2002.
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