"This is a difficult decision... but a necessary one," he told reporters.

The announcement came as the European Union has to decide whether to back calls for the lucrative but over-exploited fish -- beloved of Japanese sushi fans -- to be officially listed as an endangered species.

The French decision will weigh heavily on the final position adopted by the European Union.

Greenpeace environmental watchdog said the 18-month delay was "absurd" and akin to "waiting until there are no more bluefin tuna left" before the imposition of an international trade ban.

But a French government source said the timeframe was decided on to enable new scientific reports to be drawn up and to put the finishing touches to a plan for tuna fishing vessels aimed at reducing their catch.

France has a large bluefin fishing fleet and fishermen have urged the state to resist pressure from green groups when it decides whether to back adding bluefin to a list by CITES, the convention to protect threatened species.

The head of France's tuna fishing union, Mourad Kahoul, said Borloo's announcement had left him in a "state of shock" and that he was calling for an immediate meeting with President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Environmental groups warn that bluefin tuna face disappearance because of overfishing in the Mediterranean and Atlantic, mainly for lucrative markets in Asia, especially Japan.

The Japanese buy more than 80 percent of the tuna fished in the Mediterranean, so imposing an international trade ban would vastly reduce fishing of the species.

The European Union needs to come up with a common position on a ban ahead of a meeting of CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, in March in Doha, Qatar.

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