Europe's fisheries chief has decided to ban large-scale bluefin tuna fishing in the Mediterranean and east Atlantic seas from midnight today, her spokesman said.
The ban, which will last for this fishing season, follows a heavy depletion of stocks of the popular fish.
"The closure of the purse seine fishery is necessary to protect the fragile stock of bluefin tuna," a spokesman for EU Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki said, referring to the name given to large-scale bluefin tuna fishing.
"France, Greece and Spain have been informed of this decision, which becomes effective as of midnight tonight."
Reuters
