Photo Gallery Endangered Tuna in the Mediterranean
Tuna catch limits have been falling in recent years, but not fast enough, say environmentalists, who argue that stocks in the Mediterranean are less than healthy.
An Italian trawler fishes for bluefin. On Monday evening, ICCAT, which sets tuna catch limits, agreed to allow 22,000 tons of bluefin to be caught next year. ICCAT's own scientists had called for a limit of no more than 15,000 tons.
WWF has called the Monday agreement "a disgrace." But ICCAT argues that the decision continues the trend of falling catch limits.
Conservationists are worried that tuna stocks may collapse in the Mediterranean -- meaning they would fall to levels from which it would be difficult for the stock to recover.
The European Commission emphasized that Monday's agreement also includes measures to limit illegal fishing in the Mediterranean.
Greenpeace staged a demostration in front of the Agricultural Ministry in Paris last week. They dumped five tons of tuna heads on the street outside the ministry.
Delegates at the ICCAT meeting in Morocco. Many were unhappy with the results of this year's meeting.
