Chuck Schumer: “Mr. Chairman, in this debate there are going to be many strong arguments against this legislation. They point out, of…”

“Mr. Chairman, in this debate there are going to be many strong arguments against this legislation. They point out, of course, my colleagues, that this antidolphin bill damages marine ecosystems, threatens American jobs and undermines consumer labeling policies. But there is one more reason to vote ``no'' on the international dolphin conservation program, because it is actually the international drug cartel promotion agent. According to United States Government estimates, two-thirds of the cocaine entering Mexico comes through the eastern tropical Pacific, 275 tons a year, and most of those drugs end up in American neighborhoods and schools. A tuna fishing boat can crisscross the eastern Pacific over and over and no one could tell whether it was chasing dolphins or evading detection. In one instance, the rusting hull of the Don Celso made it appear to be a normal fishing vessel until the U.S. Coast Guard stopped the boat and searched it and found 7 tons of cocaine concealed on board. We know that these successful interceptions are only a fraction of the cocaine moving through the Pacific, and there is now substantial evidence, Mr. Chairman, that Colombian drug cartels and their Mexican allies have moved to gain control of many legitimate tuna fishing fleets to use them as front operations in their drug-smuggling activities. This legislation would double the number of tuna boats in the eastern tropical Pacific.”