Fishing continues to wreak havoc on the bluefin tuna population.
The WWF has asked all fishing countries to keep their fishery's closed until a scientific plan can be put in place to stop destructive industrial fishing.
Over 150 members of CITES met in Doha, Qatar in March where proposals were rejected to list bluefin tuna in the Appendix I of the convention despite meeting the requirements amply. It was mostly rejected on political grounds and overwhelming lobbying from Japan.
Some major members such as the EU did agree to put in radical measures to protect the species by the next meeting in Paris at the end of this year.
Dr Sergi Tudela, Head of Fisheries at WWF Mediterranean, said "Atlantic bluefin tuna stocks cannot resist for much longer - by all accounts the species is endangered, with current populations dwindling at less than 15 percent of what they once were."
International scientists have said that even an annual catch of 8,000 tonnes would only give at best a 50 percent chance of recovery of Atlantic bluefin tuna.
Such a quota would mean the closure of all Mediterranean fisheries and for them to adapt more traditional methods of fishing such as the tuna traps used around the Straits of Gibraltar that have supported many fishing families for over 3,000 years.
"WWF calls in particular on the EU and Japan - the main catchers and consumers of this endangered species - to lead in honouring their Doha commitments to respect science in fisheries management" said Dr Tudela.
High-tech purse seine fishing vessels with vast sack-like nets which encircle the tuna, are causing the most decline. The WWF has welcomed the decision of Italy to impose a moratorium on its large seine fishing fleet this year and scrap most of the vessels. The WWF also urges other Mediterranean countries to keep their fleets in port.
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