Larry Weiskrantz

He found himself at loggerheads in the European Commission with Joe Borg, the European fisheries commissioner from Malta. Borg was insisting that time be allowed for a bluefin recovery plan which had been agreed by Iccat. But its poor record on protecting stocks has angered conservationists. One of Dimas’s officials said: “They need to come up with conservation protection measures that live up to the scientific evidence — which so far they have failed to do.” Bluefin tuna numbers have fallen to 18 per cent of what they were less than 40 years ago and individual fish are now being caught smaller than they once were. The species is one of the largest and fastest fish with a range from the tropical Atlantic to the Arctic including the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. They can grow to more than two metres in length but that size is now increasingly rare. Officials from EU member states had met to consider a recommendation by the European Commission to support a ban on trade in the species earlier this year. And the proposal had been expected to be adopted until Mediterranean members — notably France, Spain, Italy, Malta, Greece and Cyprus — joined forces to block it, despite both France and Malta having earlier pledged to support it. The UK environment secretary, Hilary Benn, said: “I’m very disappointed the European Union has not agreed at this stage to support the proposal. We believe that full protection for bluefin tuna is urgent and necessary.” Greenpeace was particularly angered by France’s decision to block the ban despite President Nicolas Sarkozy’s promise three months ago to support a trading ban. “The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation remains dedicated to this cause and Monaco is leading the calls to add the bluefin to the endangered species list. The foundation will continue to work on vital projects with the WWF to ensure the survival of the bluefin tuna,” a spokesperson said. “As a result of both legal and illegal catches, over the past decades the species has experienced a sharp decline and its conservation status is now very poor,” the European Commission said. Larry Weiskrantz