Facing declining stocks and over-exploitation of a fish prized in Japan as gourmet sashimi and sushi, Tokyo issued a sharp warning to bluefin-trawling nations on the Mediterranean rim.

Countries that fail to show they will honour catch limits "should not engage in fishing in 2011," chief delegate Masanori Miyahara told the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) in a closed-door session.

In an opening statement obtained by AFP, Miyahara was to propose a new rule whereby each party' "ability and plan" to monitor and police their catches of bluefin be first submitted to ICCAT's compliance committee.

The 48-member ICCAT, meeting in Paris until November 27, is charged with setting the rules and quotas for Atlantic fishing of bluefin.

It is also tasked with monitoring compliance, for which it has only a spotty record.

Until this year, the organisation has routinely ignored the catch limit recommendations of its own scientists. Even then, the more generous quotas set were often surpassed by a wide margin.

Industrial-scale fishing using huge trap nets during spawning season have helped drive down stocks by about 85 percent, marine biologists say.

Miyahara reminded delegates that Japan recently refused, for the first time, more than 3,000 tonnes in Atlantic bluefin shipments due to irregularities in documentation.

Tokyo would call for suspending fishing entirely if necessary, he told journalists before the plenary began.

"According to our reading, the science does not require that level of severe measure this year. But in future, if it is necessary, we are ready to take those measures," he said.

The bluefin debate pits dug-in economic interests against mounting concern that the gleaming, fatty fish is close to being wiped out as commercially viable species.

Japan consumes nearly 80 percent of all bluefin caught in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, and thus wield enormous influence in the talks here.

"Japan has the key, and the means to convince fishing countries to accept the necessary conservation measures," said Sergi Tudela, a fisheries expert at WWF Spain.

"The decision on bluefin will be an agreement between Japan and the European Union."

The head of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Jane Lubchenco, also underscored Japan's influence.

"Japan has an absolutely critical role to play," she told AFP. "It has a serious responsibility, and I think they take these issues very seriously."

Still, conservationists remain guarded in assessing Japan's new surge of vigilance in safeguarding the species.

"On tuna and sharks, what Japan is saying and putting in writing is great, now they have to deliver," said Sue Lieberman, policy director for the Pew Environment Group. "Much more needs to be done."

They also point out that Japanese companies -- notably industrial giant Mitsubishi -- have huge stockpiles of frozen bluefin, providing at least a two-year cushion if supplies are ruptured.

On Thursday, during a closed-door meeting in which compliance of ICCAT members was reviewed, a Japanese delegate criticized the poor performance of some nations, according to someone present.

"Countries that want to sell tuna to Japan had better start to work properly," said the source, who asked not to be named.

The meeting in Paris will set catch Atlantic bluefin catch limits for 2011. The 2010 quota was 13,500 tonnes.

The EU and the United States favour a "reduction" for next year, but have not specificied by how much.

Conservationists say only a temporary ban on bluefin fishing can ensure a long-term recovery of the species.

earlier related report
US calls for reduction in bluefin tuna catch: official
Paris (AFP) Nov 18, 2010 - The United States will push to further reduce fishing quotas for Atlantic bluefin tuna at a key multinational meeting, a senior official told AFP on Thursday.

"Given the serious overfishing that has happened in the past, we need to rebuild the stocks as rapidly as possible," said Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The 48-member International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), convening in Paris through November 27, sets the rules and catch limits for Atlantic fisheries, and monitors compliance.

"Based on the scientific advice and the need for precaution, we believe that a reduction in the total allowable catch is appropriate for both the eastern and western stocks," she said in an interview.

ICCAT scientists calculate that extending the 2010 annual quota of 13,500 tonnes through 2013 would put the species on track for a 60-percent probability of reaching so-called "maximum sustainable yield" by 2022.

For Lubchenco, a 60 percent chance of success is not good enough. "It needs to go further than that," she said.

But just how deep those cuts should be, she would not say: "It is premature to put a number on the table. We are in the process of actual negotiations."

The US position echoes one adopted late Wednesday by the European Union after weeks of intense internal bickering among member states.

The compromise stance mandates the EU commissioner to seek a "stable or partially reduced quota" that could, according to one diplomat, shave 2,000 tonnes off the 2010 limit of 13,500.

In the run-up to the meeting, fishing nations led by France, Spain, Italy and Malta called for the 2010 cap to be rolled over for another year.

EU Fisheries commissioner Maria Damanaki, backed by Britain, wanted the quota slashed to 6,000 tonnes.

Conservation groups say industrial-scale tuna fishing in the Mediterranean, a spawning ground, should be suspended altogether.

ICCAT has allocated quotas for western bluefin since 1982, and for eastern stocks -- including in the Mediterranean -- since 1994.

While the western stock has stabilised thanks to strict enforcement efforts, eastern Atlantic bluefin numbers have plummeted 85 percent over three decades due to rampant overfishing, much of it illegal.

Until this year, ICCAT routinely set catch allowance for the eastern region far higher than those recommended by its own scientific committee.

Lubchenco said the organisation has recently taken key steps to "respect science" and crack down on cheating, but that there is still much room for progress.

"ICCAT needs to demonstrate that it's capable of making tough decisions and addressing the past failures of compliance," she said.

She also underscored the key position of Japan, which consumes nearly 80 percent of the tuna extracted from the eastern Atlantic in the form of sushi and sashimi.

"Japan has an absolutely critical role to play. It has a serious responsibility, and I think they take these issues very seriously."

On Thursday, during a closed-door meeting in which compliance of ICCAT members was reviewed, a Japanese delegate criticized the poor performance of some nations, according to someone present.

"Countries that want to sell tuna to Japan had better start to work properly," said the source, who asked not to be named.

The United States will also table proposals to protect sharks, especially the bigeye thresher and the short-fin mako, Lubchenco said.

Tens of millions of the open water predators are killed every year to satisfy a burgeoning appetite for shark fins, a Chinese delicacy.

One US proposal would require that some sharks captured in the Atlantic be brought to shore with their fins attached, in part to help scientists gather data and keep track of which species are most vulnerable.

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