Tuna fishing warning from environmental group

Countries are ignoring limits on fishing in the Mediterranean Sea, endangering the existence of the bluefin tuna, says environmental campaign group WWF.

The group is staging protests outside a meeting in Seville, Spain, this week of the body that governs tuna fishing, to pressure governments to stick to quotas which aim to keep fish stocks viable.

"We have reached crisis point for bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean," said spokesman Sergi Tudela.

WWF estimates that 45,000-50,000 tonnes of bluefin tuna were caught last year, well beyond the 32,000-tonne quota allowed by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas.