Dolphin advocates Rick O' Barry and Sam LaBudde called for an individual and University boycott of all tuna and H. J. Heinz products when speaking to more than 225 people in Chambers building last night.

"The government is doing nothing (to solve this problem) -- it's up to the students to do something," said marine biologist and advocate Sam LaBudde.

LaBudde showed a video, Where Have All the Dolphins Gone?, based on his four month experience on board a Panamanian tuna vessel, which depicted dolphin death in the tuna harvest process.

Because cameras are not permitted on board American tuna vessels, LaBudde said it was necessary to pose as a cook to get the footage.

Both the American Tunaboat Association and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission said the boat in the video is not typical for several reasons -- the vessel was foreign, old and had mechanical problems, the net was not designed to catch tuna and the skipper was inexperienced.

"I cannot say it was the only boat that fishes that way," said Martin Hall, program director of the tuna/dolphin project of the Inter-American Tuna Commission, adding, "If this boat was typical, there would be no dolphins."

LaBudde described this issue as a litmus test for other environmental problems. "If we can't even make a good call for the dolphins, what does that say about our ability to deal with other species or environmental problems?"

Greenpeace, an environmental activist group, is lobbying for the 1990 Dolphin Protection Consumer Information Act, currently in the Senate, which would require all tuna products to hold the label, "The tuna in this product was caught with methods that kill dolphins."

One brand of tuna will not carry this label; instead it carries the Flipper Seal of Approval. Tongol Tuna is a brand of tuna that does not involve dolphin death and sells locally at The Granary, 2766 W. College Ave., for $1.59 for a 6.5 oz. can.

Albacore tuna will not receive a similar label because "all albacore companies are involved in the yellowfin catch and dolphin death," said LaBudde.

Despite public reaction and awareness, H. J. Heinz -- makers of Star-Kist tuna and Nine Lives catfood, report an increase in sales, said corporate communication manager Debbie Foster.

After the video, the room was hushed and tearful as LaBudde passed out an H. J. Heinz petition and boycott postcards and encouraged students to protest. He also urged students to begin a dolphin project to make the University tuna-free.

Carl Albright (sophomore-physics) said he thought it was a good program and that he would stop eating tuna.