Marrakesh/Madrid - Environmental organizations issued a warning today about the low stocks of Mediterranean bluefin tuna and demanded a fishing stop in order to allow the species to recuperate.

Demand for tuna had led to illegal and above-quota fishing, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) warned as 46 countries and other contracting parties to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) met in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh.

Scientists recommend an annual fishing limit of 15,000 tons for East Atlantic bluefin tuna, but the captures amounted to 61,000 tons in 2007, the organization Oceana said, calling for permanent tuna reserves in key spawning areas.

The countries with the most bluefin tuna fishing fleet overcapacity in the Mediterranean are Turkey, Italy, Croatia, Libya, France and Spain, according to WWF.

WWF urged the ICCAT to adopt a management plan ensuring the sustainability of bluefin tuna at the meeting, which will run through November 24.