The Atlantic bluefin tuna is threatened with extinction, according to scientists, after fishing nations refused to adopt recommended quotas.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) voted yesterday for a quota of 22,000 tonnes to be caught in the Mediterranean and Atlantic next year, a reduction of 6,500 tonnes from this year’s quota. It will be cut to 19,950 tonnes in 2010.

However its scientific advisers had previously advised that the maximum sustainable catch was only 15,500 tonnes.

The commission, representing the 46 main fishing nations, also rejected scientific advice to close fragile spawning areas in May and June.

The discussions were marred by allegations that the European Commission had threatened developing states with trade retaliations should they support lower catch limits and extended closed seasons.

The wildlife charity WWF said that the European Union was the main backer of the new quota, with the support of Japan, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Syria.

It said that Japan had initially followed the United States, Canada, Mexico, Norway, Iceland and Brazil in supporting a limit of 15,000 tonnes.

“This is not a decision, it is a disgrace,” said Dr Sergi Tudela, head of WWF’s Mediterranean’s fisheries programme. Greenpeace called the vote disastrous and shameful.

The WWF added: “The European Union, representing the majority of Mediterranean countries with interests in the bluefin tuna fishery, has bullied other parties in the meeting into agreeing to management proposals that completely fail to follow the advice of ICCAT’s own scientific body to substantially reduce fishing and protect the species’ spawning grounds.”

Conservationists fear that the number of fish caught is significantly under-reported because of the impact of pirate fishing.

Some tuna fishing fleets have swelled to 1,700 vessels, with some using spotter planes to track down the schools of fish. Pirate fishing is estimated to more than double the tuna catch to about 61,000 tonnes.

A spokesman for Joe Borg, the EU fisheries commissioner, said: “Scientific evidence is the basis of our work.

“The result is a negotiation between the preservation of a resource and the need to provide for an industry. In the end, the commission is pleased that the member states could reach consensus.”

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