WASHINGTON –– Tuna caught along with dolphins may be labeled "dolphin safe" if it can be certified that no dolphins were killed or seriously injured during the catch, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. The ruling opens the way for Mexico and Ecuador to ship tuna to the United States.

The decision to soften the requirements for using the "dolphin-safe" label brought immediate criticism from environmentalists who say current international safeguards are insufficient to ensure that tuna was caught without harm to dolphins.

The action by the department's National Marine Fisheries Service came after the agency determined that while thousands of dolphins continue to be killed during tuna fishing, the losses pose no significant threat to the species.

The marine fisheries service said tuna caught by encircling dolphins may immediately be imported into the United States and bear the "dolphin-safe" label as long as observers aboard the fishing vessels certify that no dolphins were killed or seriously injured during the catch.

"Americans can continue to have confidence that when they purchase tuna with the dolphin-safe label that dolphins are being protected," said Bill Hogarth, the agency's director.

Also See: Greenpeace Foudation's Dolphin Alert

Under the old definition, any tuna caught using dolphins as targets were automatically barred from bearing the consumer-friendly label on cans sold in the United States.

Dolphin commonly swim with schools of tuna. Various reports have said between 2,000 and 3,000 dolphins are killed annually in connection with tuna fishing in the eastern Pacific. Dolphin fatalities numbered in the hundreds of thousands decades ago, prompting new international efforts – and the emergence of the "dolphin-safe" label – to better protect the mammals.

But some environmentalists said the Bush administration was sacrificing dolphins for the sake of free trade and succumbing to pressure from Mexico, which has lobbied hard for a change in the "dolphin-safe" label requirements.

Mexico is a major source of tuna, but has been prevented from full access to the huge U.S. market. Under the old requirement, its fishermen usually were in violation of the dolphin-safe standard because they targeted dolphins in their pursuit of tuna.

"The claim that chasing and netting dolphins is safe for dolphins is fraudulent," said David Phillips, director of the marine mammal program at the Earth Island Institute, a leading advocacy group for increased protection of dolphins. He accused the Bush administration of "selling out dolphins to reward Mexican tuna millionaires."

Kitty Block, an attorney for the Humane Society of the United States, said it was "unconscionable" that "for the first time in over a decade dolphin-deadly tuna will be sold in the United States," misleading consumers about the dolphin-safe designation.

It was not immediately clear how much of an economic impact Tuesday's action will have, although it is expected to result in increased shipments of Mexican tuna into the United States.

Environmentalists noted that some major tuna processors, including StarKist, Bumble Bee and Chicken of the Sea, have pledged that they would not buy tuna caught by targeting and netting dolphins. Still, the government's new stamp of approval on some tuna caught that way, could change that.

During a telephone news conference, Hogarth expressed confidence in the reporting system to ensure that tuna labeled "dolphin safe" actually was caught without harming any dolphins.

Observers are required on each fishing vessel, and they must report any dolphin fatalities or injuries. If dolphins are harmed, that tuna is closely tracked to make sure it is not labeled "dolphin safe," he said.

But environmentalists say that, with millions of dollars in tuna sales at stake, the observers can be bribed or otherwise pressured to "look the other way" when dolphins are harmed. Hogarth said the United States will seek better enforcement of the international dolphin conservation program.

Mexico had signaled that if it did not get wider access to U.S. markets through an easing of the dolphin-safe label requirements, it might pull out of the international dolphin protection program altogether.

On the Net:

Earth Island Institute: http://www.earthisland.org

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/prot_res/PR2/Tuna_Dolphin/tunadolphin.html

Copyright 2003 The Associated Press

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