Malta exported €86.3 million worth of bluefin tuna in 11 months, according to figures released in Parliament. The news comes as international talks started yesterday to determine the future of a species that scientists say is facing extinction.

Last Wednesday, Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said the total value of exports of tuna, sea bream, saltwater fish and sea bass between August 2008 and July amounted to €89.1 million. The biggest contribution was tuna, which commands huge prices in Japan where a single fish can fetch up to $100,000 for its coveted sashimi meat.

However, speaking ahead of a week-long meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) that kicked off in Brazil yesterday, EU Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg said fishing nations must reduce their bluefin tuna catch.

ICCAT, which has 48 contracting countries, has come under fire from environmentalists for failing to protect bluefin tuna. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Greenpeace have urged ICCAT to impose a zero quota in the ongoing meeting.

The bluefin tuna catch in Europe last year totalled 11,400 tonnes, according to ICCAT's Report of the Standing Committee on Research and Statistics released at recent a meeting in Spain. In addition, countries outside the EU top that number with thousands of tonnes of their own catch.

ICCAT scientists said last month that bluefin catches must drop to below 15,000 tonnes a year to ensure a recovery.

The report attributed a catch of 590 tonnes to Malta. While Malta's fleet is small compared with other Mediterranean countries, the country is referred to as "the global capital of tuna farms". Thousands of tuna are brought to Malta in cages by foreign fishermen to be fattened and later exported.

A report produced by the Federation of Maltese Aquaculture Producers (FMAP) states that the industry has doubled its turnover over the two-year period to 2007. Tuna is now the third most exported commodity, according to the federation.

However, scientists and environmental organisations have warned that overfishing could cause bluefin tuna to become extinct.

At current fishing rates, the WWF estimates that bluefin tuna that spawn in the Mediterranean could disappear from those waters as early as 2012.

Last September, the European Commission recommended that the EU supports a temporary suspension of the global trade of bluefin tuna. But the recommended ban was shot down by Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Spain, France and Italy - all countries with a stake in the trade.

However, Prince Albert of Monaco has formally proposed a listing of tuna in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. If that happens, internationally traded bluefin sushi will have the same illegal status as rhino horn and tiger skins.