Imagine yourself enjoying a swim in the Pacific Ocean when all of a sudden you are surrounded by what seems like miles of netting. You have no place to run, no escape. You are trapped! Suddenly you are swept on board a large fishing vessel where you are thrown on deck; left to suffocate and die. This is a fate experienced by thousands of our ocean’s dolphins due to fishing practices of many nations. It is a fate that is not only cruel, but also unnecessary.

It sickens me to think of the total and needless loss of life happening to our dolphins in the Pacific Ocean today. The fact that fishing vessels use the dolphin as a locator for the schools of yellowfin tuna has put the dolphin population at an increasing risk of decline. These vessels follow the dolphin and then encircle them with their nets in order to catch the tuna that is swimming below them. For those dolphins caught in the nets, many drown or are caught up in the boat’s propellers. Others that are pulled up on ships are tossed to the side and left to die a suffocating death.

Because of the magnitude of this situation, my family has always supported buying ONLY "Dolphin-Safe" tuna products. Recently, I learned that the U.S. Commerce Department is planning to allow tuna that is caught using the above method to be packaged with the dolphin-safe label. This, to me, means that the U.S. Commerce Department will be LYING to millions of Americans. I don’t know about you, but my family has taught me that to LIE to someone shows that you have a very serious character flaw. They have also taught me to respect our government and the laws of our land. But I ask you, Mr. President, in this situation, "How can I respect a government that I know is lying to me?" Do you condone such deceit?

The dolphin is just a small part of our ecosystem, but it is an important one that needs to be preserved and protected by our government. More than seven million dolphins have died since 1960 due to the fishing practices I have outlined in this letter. Up until now, the dolphin-safe label helped to ensure that dolphins would be protected. I am urging you to let the U.S. Commerce Department know that the people of the United States do not want to be lied to. We want to continue to have in place a system that protects our world’s dolphin population. I know I can count on you President Bush to make sure this happens.

Sincerely,

David T.
Valley Springs, CA