The Future of Seafood Labeling Under the World Trade Organization: Lessons from the Dolphin-Safe Tuna Dispute

Fish and fishery products are among the most traded commodities worldwide. The growing demand for seafood products contributes to overharvesting of fish by increasing prices even when stocks are declining, providing a perverse economic incentive to continue fishing unsustainably. The growing use of sustainability labels on seafood that is certified by a governmental or nongovernmental body is part of a relatively recent effort to address overfishing from the demand side. The public concern over the impact to dolphin populations in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean (ETP) resulted in the development of a dolphin-safe label, the blue dolphin on cans of tuna. The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the institution responsible for promoting international free trade. In an important development, the WTO has recently ruled that the US dolphin-safe tuna label violates international trade law and must be changed. Unlike past rulings on the label, the United States cannot ignore the ruling because it is legally binding as a condition of membership to the WTO, and disregarding it could result in economic penalties via trade sanctions. This analysis seeks to provide an overview of the ecological and legal foundation for the dolphin-safe label, an examination of the WTO’s ruling on the regulations that establish the label, and an analysis of the implications of the ruling on future seafood ecolabeling schemes. By studying this timely subject, important conclusions about market-based conservation efforts can be drawn and used to inform future labeling programs