Clinton's Failed Ocean Policies
Seven Reasons to Question the National Ocean Conference

1. Killing Sea Turtles to Catch Shrimp
Due to an Earth Island Institute lawsuit, the Clinton Administration was forced to embargo foreign imports of shrimp caught in trawl nets which often drown most of the 150,000 endangered sea turtles entangled annually. The Administration's defense of the embargo before the World Trade Organization has been less than stellar, leading to a ruling by the international trade panel that protection of sea turtles from drowning in shrimp nets is a barrier to free trade and that the embargoes must be lifted. Now, the Clinton Administration is seriously considering paying reparations to nations that continue to unnecessarily drown sea turtles.

2. Killing Dolphins to Catch Tuna
In the name of free trade, the Clinton Administration forced through Congress legislation which will allow a flood of dolphin-deadly tuna to enter the US market, reversing a decade of progress in reducing dolphin deaths. The Administration on May 21st signed an international agreement which allows foreign tuna fishermen to DOUBLE the number of dolphins killed annually in tuna nets -- under this new agreement, at least 5,000 dolphins can die annually in the fishery, and there are no provisions to reduce the kill rate.

3. Collapsing Fisheries
Fisheries all along the coasts of America are in decline. The National Academy of Sciences has ranked overfishing and collapsing food-fish populations as the most serious human activity which threatens the ocean. The Clinton Administration has failed to reverse the declining trends on both coasts -- instead allowing commercial fishing giants to continue the devastation. The Administration's proposed 1999 budget to fund the National Marine Fisheries Service, charged with fisheries oversight, is several million dollars lower than 1998.

4. Foot Dragging on Salmon Protection
The Clinton Administration has repeatedly refused to list severely depleted runs of salmon and steelhead on the Pacific Coast through the federal Endangered Species Act. Only after environmentalists completed several successful lawsuits has the Administration moved forward with listings. Implementation of recovery plans for these fragile populations is moving at a snail's pace, while disruptive logging and water diversions continue. The Clinton Administration has even proposed shooting seals and sea lions to bolster disappearing salmon and steelhead runs, scapegoating these marine mammals for human-caused declines. Meanwhile, the Clinton Administration is enthusiastically supporting legislation to seriously weaken the federal ESA (S.1180), now pending on the US Senate floor.

5. Blasting Ocean Waters with Sound
The US Navy, with the blessings of the Clinton Administration, is blasting the waters of California and Hawaii with ear-shattering sound, up to 235 decibels, in preparation to search for lurking enemy submarines. Permanent hearing loss in people begins at 130 decibels, but marine mammals are even more sensitive to sound underwater. Environmentalists are, once again, forced to sue the Administration to stop the noise pollution.

6. Winking at Illegal Whaling
Since 1993, Norway has been violating the International Whaling Convention and the international ban on commercial whaling by killing hundreds of minke whales every year in the North Atlantic. Despite their acknowledgment of the illegal commercial whaling activity, the Clinton Administration has bluntly refused to invoke trade sanctions under the Pelly Amendment against Norwegian fish products. By failing to take action on Norway, the Clinton Administration makes a mockery of the Pelly Amendment and gives a green light to illegal whaling.

7. Failing to Enforce Ocean Protection Laws
The National Marine Fisheries Service spends little on enforcement of ocean laws. There is virtually no enforcement of the federal Endangered Species Act in Texas waters, which allows shrimp boats to illegally drown rare sea turtles. As of 1996, NMFS had only 111 Special Agents and 22 Fishery Patrol Officers nationwide to enforce laws throughout the extensive ocean waters of the United States out to the 200-mile-zone -- an area encompassing 3.4 million square miles of ocean and coastline.

Protecting the oceans requires far more than celebrations and photo-ops. For further information, contact Earth Island Institute's Sea Turtle Restoration Project (415) 488-0370 or International Marine Mammal Project (415) 788-3666.