~ Page 4°°fassiar Courier’ June~ 1990

Is Extinction Worth A Sandwich’?

Submitted by Vickie Kornelsen

As the school of dolphins
are chased by high speed power—
boats the nets close, pursed at
the bottom and toa high to get
over at the surface. The dol-
phins are victims of association
and are being slaughtered by the
tuna industry.

Since tuna swim underneath
dolphins the tuna fishermen net
in both the tuna and the dolphins
and try to let the dolphins go.
The net used is called a siene
and is pursed shut at the bottom.
Dolphins therefore try to get
over the top and crowd along the
edges of the net. However this
causes a major problem, as when
they get close to the net some
become tangled or caught under
water, and since dolphins are
mammals, they drown.

Techniques have been devised
to help decrease dolphin mortal—
ity rate but thousands still die
every year. In 1966 244,000 doal-
phins died and though this number
has dropped, millions of dolphins
have been mur dered over the
years.

1. Tuna boat encircles tuna” .

and porpoises with a long seine
that is then pursed shut ~ *

at bottom. Corkline and
buoys keep top afloat.. -

/. - engines and ‘‘backs down,”

tuna and all industries that sup-—

port it. A tuna killing industry
is the H.J. Heinz Corporation.
H.J. Heinz claims that it

owns no tuna boats but this is
irrelevant since they could buy
tuna from any industry but pur-
chase it at the cheapest place ta
maximize profits at the expense
of the dolphins.

There is also the claim that
99% af the dolphins are released.
This figure is based on inflated
school size before capture and
doesn’t take inta account injured
deafened dolphins that are easy

prey for sharks. This figure
also doesn’t take into account
that most of the dolphins are

captured over and over again.

The Marine Mammal Protection
Act allows the killing of about
20,000 dolphins a year and H.J.
Heinz is fighting to keep loop—
holes in this legislation so they
can continue the dolphin slaught—
er. There is also no scienti fic—
ally valid proof that dolphin
populations are increasing as the
H.J. Heinz Corporation is claim—
ing.

4 2. Part of seine is winched

aboard. Skipper reverses

fe

pulling remainder into.a
longoval. — :

- 3, Tension created by backdown
_ pulls far edge of net underwater,
-. releasing porpoises. If tuna find

\\ > the exit, backdown is quickly = -
halted, and net edge rises again. .

iL Oh ei rs

BRE
Beige
bedi. -

Ipsos
-U.

sporpoise entanglement,’ i. Jat’
sand a ‘super apron,')-: :
Yorbroad-lipped ==
vescape edge

ent?
Se AEH ales aa en «get
weet Ra ed mae

mater

DIAGRAM BY NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ARTIST ROBERT C. MAGIS

One method of dolphin rescue
1S called a backdown maneuver.
This technique lets the back end

of the net drop in the water soa
the dolphins can go free. This
idea is exploited by the tuna in-
dustry but there is another side
ta the story. The net is lowered
only as long as the tuna don’t
find the opening. If tuna dis-
cover the opening the maneuver is
quickly stopped and the dolphins
once again are trapped.

Also, there is the question
of the foreign tuna vessels.
There is no way ta know the tech—
niques used on these ships, or
how many dolphins are being kil-
led by them.

AS we sit, wonder ing WhAL

- can be done more dolphins are
dying. But there is an answer.
The one thing that will stop the
viscous slaughter is to boycott

The following are companies
that subsidize dolphin slaughter.

* Starkist Tuna;
* Heinz Ketchup, pickles, rel-—-
ishes, salad dressings, vinegar,

soups, baby food;

*% Weight Watchers products;

-% Chico-San rice cakes;

* Ore-Ida Potatoes;

* California Home brands;

* Champion Valley farms;

* Nine Lives, Amore, Kozy Kit-—
ten, Petuna, Glamour Puss, and
Finicky Bits Cat. food;

*% Vet’s Recipe, Skippy, Reward,

Jerky Treats
foods.

and Meaty Bone dog

There is no alternative but
boycotting these products if the
dolphin slaughter is to stop.

If you remember nothing else
from this article remember: Is

extinction worth a sandwich?

For more information contacts
Earth Island Institute

300 Broadway

San Fransisco, CA

94133

€415) 778-3666

SIMON FRASER
UNIVERSITY

MEDIA & PUBLIC RELATIONS
Burnaby, B.C. Canada V5SA 156
(604) 291-3210/291-3219

FAX (604) 291-3039

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& woman reported an accident
to me at the insurance company
and asked if her rates would go
up. I explained that our under—
writing department determines who
is at fault, and rates are adjus—
ted accordingly. Continuing the
interview, I requested her licen-
ce-plate number. It ended in NMF
and, verifying, I asked, "Is that
N as in Nancy, M as in Mary, F as
in Frank?"

"Well, yes," she replied.
"But could you please tell your.
underwriters that it’s also N as
in Not, M as in My, F as in
Fault?"

make up a greeting

ee

“ception ta
‘which allows the Sikh turban to

ethnic

Dear Sir:

I am writing to express my
concern about the poem entitled
"The New "Mountie’", which appea—
red in the May edition of the
Courier. As it was unattributed,
I can only assume that it was the
editor’s work.

Not so long ago, “nigger”
jokes had everyone in stitches at
parties; "Indian" jokes kept them
laughing in the local bars, and
"Hindu" jokes were bandied about
in board rooms. Behind those
"jokes", however, lay a grim rea
lity - those blacks and Natives
and East Indians were inferior to
you and me and deserving of our
contempt. And when it was poin—
ted out that what we were laugh—
ing at was based on a sense of
racial superiority and hatred, we
protested that we were only kid-

ding, that we were oanly trying ta
be funny.
Well, it wasn’t funny then

and it certainly isn’t now. Ra—
cism is a poison which permeates
our society. However, in recent
years we have developed a much
more positive view of other races
and cultures and are succeeding
in imbuing anti-racist attitudes
in our children. Obviously we
face a much longer journey down
the road to racial equality than
I imagined when your paper can
blithely publish writing which
denigrates an ethnic group in the
guise of "humour."
Many people
the

have taken ex—
recent ruling

be warn by RCMP officers. Fair
enough. We all have the right to
express our concern at what many
people see as the eroding of a
tradition of long standing. How-
ever, there is a vast difference
between objecting to an adminis—
trative decision and subjecting
these people who are involved in
the decision to ridicule = and

_ scorn.

At the very least you. owe
Sikh Canadians and, by extension,
Canadians of East Indian extrac—
tion an apolagy. Further, you
owe a general apology to your
reading public for your assump-
tion that any of us would find
your poem amusing and, worse,
would accept the racist premise
which underlies your wards!

Sincerely,

John Wright

Dease Lake, H.C.

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Ta the Cassiar Courier,

Both my wife and I were dis-—
gusted to read that racist poem,
(The New “Mountie"), on page 24
of the May 1990 edition. This
kind of racism hurts not only the
East Indian residents of Cassiar,
but as well it implies that this
kind of bigotry is OK to our
children.

The Cassiar Courier is read
by people in other parts of Cana—
da and the world. By printing
this poem you have slurred all
minorities, and dragged

oeassiar Courier

the people of Cassiar down.

Come on Courier,
better than this!

you can do

Yours sincerely,

The Rev. Rodney May

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Dear Staff:

I was shocked and dismayed
at the inclusion of the clip en—
titled "The New Mountie" in your
May issue. At best it is in very
bad taste, and at worst could be
considered to be hate promoting.

Regardless of one’-, personal
opinion regarding the changes in
the RCMP dress code, I don’t be-
lieve that the publication of
such material is the best way to
make the point.

Please consider publishing
an apology to our citizens of
East Indian origin for your lack
of sensitivity and better judge-
ment.

Yours truly,

Jee MeGielel

W PPP PPP PP LLLP PPL PPP PLL LLP PLP PLP LEP PP PI PPA

Dear readers:

I have been disturbed by the
reaction I have witnessed to "The
New Mountie". This poem appeared
in the May Courier, and since
then most people seem to approve
of the mocking of Sikhs that is
contained in it. Apparently,
most of us feel that Sikhs had
better conform to tradition if
they want toa join the RCMP,. and
that this poem represents a fine
expression of humour.
agree, and I would like to offer
some reasons that I hope you will
consider. d

When you decided that Sikhs
had to honour the traditional
RCMP uniform, did you form your
opinion carefully? Did you con—
template that there may be a va-—
luable role for Sikh RCMP members
in our multi-cultural nation? Do
you understand the full signi fi-
cance of the turban to Sikhs and
why they are so reluctant to re—-
move them? Can you explain how
the turban adversely affects the
RCMP when a policeman’s headgear
does not hinder the per formance
of his duties? Can you illus—
trate how turbans threaten the
RCMP stetson as a Canadian emblem
when only a small percentage of
the total police force is likely
ever to be a Sikh?. I ask you to
ensure that you have good reasons
for your viewpoint. Could it be
that you resent Sikhs merely be—
cause their way of being Canadian
is different from yours?

When you laughed at
Mountie”", why did you?

"The New
The au-

thor felt Sikhs shouldn’t wear
turbans in the RCMP. Does his
position therefore justify his

use of terms that are intended to
insult also a Sikh’s religious
beliefs, dress and diet? Would
you enjoy it if someone disagreed
with you on a certain matter, and
then went on to insult every
other aspect of your life? What

* ours,

1a re

June-4990 * Page 5

Caen tr te Oe eas Napanee eRe eC AA INNA WA aterm ane y =

would you think of people that
laughed at such remarks?

I hope that the supporters
of "The New Mountie” will refrain

from future displays of such
questionable taste, judgement and
motive.

Doug Raynor

“i
Dear Sir:

The teachers of Cassiar
Secondary School are deeply con-
cerned about the racist tone in

the poem entitled "The New
Mountie" in the May issue of the
paper.

We as staff try to emphasize
multi-cultural and anti-racist
attitudes and your peom does much
to destroy our efforts. In a
multi-ethnic community such as
this poem is particularly
objectionable.

We are calling for retrac—
tion of the article and further,
we believe that a paper should
take responsibility for publish—
ing some positive article about
our cultures.

Yours truly,

The staff of Cassiar Secondary

School,

Ms. W.
Ms. H.
Mr. M.

Cartwright
McLeod
Basran

Mr. W. Van der Kamp
Mr. W. Cocking

Mrs. W. Matsubuchi
Mr. E. Trask

Mrs. J. Hebert

Mr. S. Whalen

Mr. R.J. Wilson

Dear Sir:

I am writing to thank the
Lions Club, playgoers and other
supporters who helped make the
Cassiar Secondary Whitehor se
drama trip a success. The
actors, crew and students who
travelled to Whitehorse were
excellent ambassadors for the
town and learned much from the
experience.

As director and sponsor I am

proud of the dramatic
represented by the
Play "No Kidding”. The students
I will list. below could have
taken a place of pride in a play
festival anywhere in B.C. They
took a complex play which touches

very
achievement

an important social issue and
presented it with a degree of
sensitivity and understanding

that was remarkable.
Congratulations to:

Sheena Billingsley
Jennifer Brignall
Lisa Ray

Tracey Walker

Sam Bondesen
Janice Joseph

Pat Ryan

Rob Dostie

Yours Truly,

Howard Baker

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