Bluefin Tuna in Atlantic Nearing Extinction, Conservation Group SaysStefan Lovgrenfor National Geographic NewsJuly 24, 2006

Bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean Sea and east Atlantic Ocean are nearing extinction because of widespread illicit fishing, the international conservation organization WWF warns.

An annual quota set by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) restricts tuna catches across the Mediterranean to 32,000 tons (29,000 metric tons).

But WWF estimates that the quota is being violated by about 50 percent and that real catches of bluefin tuna are around 50,000 tons (45,000 metric tons).

The main offenders are France, Libya, and Turkey, the organization says. "The deliberate underreporting [of tuna fishing] by certain [countries], like France, and the impunity with which most industrial fleets are contravening the international legislation points to a situation of virtually unregulated fishing," Tudela said.

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