"We are recommending that the parties approve the proposals made by Monaco," said David Morgan, head of the scientific support unit at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

Japan has opposed the ban proposed by Monaco, which would classify the fish as a species threatened with extinction, CITES officials said.

France this week lent its support to the proposals under certain conditions despite strong opposition among its Mediterranean fishing fleets, paving the way for European Union backing, officials said.

EU, US and Palau proposals to limit international trade in some types of sharks are also due to be examined when CITES holds its three-yearly meeting in Qatar on March 13 to 25.

Meanwhile, Tanzania and Zambia are asking for a trade embargo on ivory to be eased again, allowing them to sell controlled quantities of elephants' tusks, the agency said in a statement.

However, Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Rwanda and Sierra Leone want to take the opposite step, to reinforce a ban by imposing a 20-year moratorium on any proposals to relax the endangered status of African elephants.

CITES declined to make a recommendation on the Tanzanian and Zambian bid before it is considered by a panel of elephant experts, but the agency recommended a rejection of the central and west African proposal.

"Continent-wide this is not a species that is any danger of becoming extinct, so it's frustrating that some pockets are under such pressure," said CITES investigator John Sellars

"And that is why we get these often diametrically opposed views on what the best way forward is for this species as a whole."

European Union states are seeking restrictions on the trade in red or pink corals, among some 40 proposals on the conservation of animal, reptiles, insects or plants that are due to be decided on by CITES member states in Qatar.

"The marine theme of this year's CITES conference is particularly striking," said the agency's Secretary General Willem Wijnstekers.

Morgan told journalists that bluefin tuna met the criteria for inclusion in the top grade appendix one -- which bans cross border trade of a species outright and classifies it as endangered -- notably because of a general 80 percent decline in its stocks.

Currently bluefin tuna, found in parts of the Atlantic and Mediterranean, is subject to fishing quotas of about 20,000 tonnes a year, but its stocks are highly prized.

A single fish, weighing about 650 kilogrammes, can currently fetch up to 120,000 dollars, according to CITES.

Unusually, Monaco's proposals would also set up a special CITES committee that could recommend a quick change if stocks recover.

But Morgan said there had been little sign of a "rebound" in the species in West Atlantic, despite a broad halt to fishing there from the mid 1980s.

"It's not going to be instantaneous, the decline has occurred for the past 40 years or so," he added.

Species including vicuna, a type of lama prized for its furs, and some crocodiles, have been downgraded in recent years due to the success of conservation measures helped by trade restrictions, said CITES official Juan Carlos Vasquez.

Downgrades for Nile crocodiles and American bobcats have been proposed for Qatar, as well as a delisting for a Marianas Island mallard duck -- because it seems to be extinct.

CITES currently regulates trade in some 34,000 species as well as ingredients or objects derived from them, including carvings, substances added to lipsticks or hairs used in brushes.

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