EU to fight for tuna protection at global talks

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By Pete Harrison

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Fishing nations must cut the amount of Atlantic bluefin tuna they catch and protect porbeagle and thresher sharks, European fisheries commissioner Joe Borg said on Friday ahead of international talks.

Atlantic bluefin is prized by sushi lovers and commands huge prices in Asia, particularly in Japan where a single fish can fetch up to $100,000.

As a result, industrial fishing has drastically reduced numbers in the Mediterranean and east Atlantic, and scientists warn the population is nearing the point at which it might never fully recover.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) meets for a week from November 7 in Recife, Brazil.

The intergovernmental body, which has 48 contracting countries, is maligned by environmentalists as failing to protect bluefin.

"Tough decisions are ahead of us, but that is the price to pay to ensure the future of the fisheries concerned," Borg said in a statement.

"Total allowable catches should be reduced accordingly, and fishing overcapacity must be effectively addressed."

There should also be heavy scrutiny of fishing plans for other species such as swordfish, albacore and bigeye tuna, the EU added.

CREDIBILITY TEST

The warm-blooded bluefin is known for its size and speed, reaching weights of over 600 kg (1,300 lb) -- heavier than an average horse -- and accelerating faster than a sports car to reach top speeds of around 70 km/h (40 mph).

ICCAT scientists said last month that bluefin catches must drop to below 15,000 metric tons a year to ensure a recovery that would one day allow sustainable catches of around 50,000 metric tons a year.

"This is a test of credibility for ICCAT as the body responsible for managing species of Atlantic tuna and we hope that they pass this test," British Fisheries Minister Huw Irranca-Davies said.

Monaco has proposed protecting bluefin by using another mechanism -- listing the species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), and the EU this year came close to supporting that move.

But fishing nations Spain, Italy, France, Cyprus, Greece and Malta said in September they would not allow the 27-member EU to give its combined backing to Monaco.

Borg said he would also call on ICCAT to take ambitious steps to protect porbeagle and thresher sharks.

The porbeagle is a smaller relation of the man-eating great white that is prized by sport fishermen for its ability to jump out of the water as it fights the line.

The thresher shark grows to more than 500 kg and is known for its exceptionally long tail fin, which it uses to corral and stun schooling fishes.

Both shark species are fished for their fins, which are prized in Asia as an ingredient for soup, but they struggle to recover their numbers because like all sharks they breed so slowly.

(Editing by Michael Roddy)

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