Michael Douglas, Elle MacPherson, Miguel Bosé, Colin Firth, Greta Scacchi and Stephen Fry are among 50 international celebrities that have joined 16 environmental organisations calling for a ban on the trade of Bluefin tuna.

The list also includes dignitaries such as former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and former High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union Javier Solana. Even banker Baron Eric De Rothschild added his name to the cause, as did numerous other artists and businessmen.

Ecologistas en Acción, Greenpeace, Marviva, Oceana, Pew and World Wide Fund for Nature last Wednesday launched the documentary The End of the Line that tackles the worldwide overfishing problem and the disappearance of the Atlantic Bluefin tuna. During the event held in Madrid, that had the support of Miguel Bosé, the organisations urged Spain to support the ban on the international trade of Bluefin tuna.

Spain currently holds the EU presidency and has the highest quota of Bluefin tuna. The organisations said the country has the responsibility of acting to preserve this species. They urged the Spanish government to immediately support the inclusion of Bluefin tuna in Appendix 1 of the United Nations Convention on Endangered Species, known as Cites. The next meeting will be held in Doha, Qatar in mid-March and a possible tuna ban is on the agenda.

Once again, the organisations have laid out the critical situation that this species is undergoing in the North Atlantic and the need for immediate action to ensure its future. Decades of overfishing, illegal fishing and management dominated by industry interests, have decimated the Bluefin tuna spawning stock to levels below 15 per cent of the existing population before industrial fishing.

Negotiations are currently taking place at EU level for a common stance for the Cites meeting, which will be a determining factor for this species' future.

Following a u-turn on the issue by France and Italy, the European Parliament will next week vote on an urgent resolution presented by its Environment Committee urging the European Commission and EU member states to support the proposed ban.

France and Italy had originally made up a blocking minority at EU Council level together with Malta, Spain, Greece and Cyprus until they reversed their position.

Malta is still working hard not to allow the ban to occur in order to protect local interests. Tuna is a lucrative business for the country - while the country's fishing fleet is small, Azzopardi Fisheries commands the largest tuna farm in the world. Thousands of tuna are brought to Malta in cages by foreign fishermen to be fattened and exported.

Last year, Malta exported €86.3 million worth of Bluefin tuna in 11 months, according to figures released in Parliament. 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.

Nationalist MEP Simon Busuttil was among five MEPs proposing amendments against a total ban in an attempt to try to derail the resolution presented by its Environment Committee urging the European Commission and EU member states to support the proposed ban. Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg has also announced he is against the ban.

Those supporting the ban are arguing that management of the fisheries sector based on measures such as quotas have failed to preserve stocks of Bluefin tuna in accordance with scientific advice.

Last month, The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society - renowned for its battles against Japanese whalers - announced it is heading to the Mediterranean to oppose the illegal operations of Bluefin tuna poachers.

Both Sea Shepherd ships, the Steve Irwin and the Bob Barker, will head for the Mediterranean from the Southern Ocean. The organisation said this is a crucial year in the battle to save the species.

Announcing their venture into the Mediterranean, the organisation's founder and president, Captain Paul Watson, said: "We need to bring to the attention of the international public that one of the most unique fish species in the world, the Bluefin tuna, is on the brink of extinction due to the illegal fisheries driven by Japan's insatiable demand for this expensive fish."

Last month, a single Bluefin tuna sold to Japan fetched €125,230. As the fish becomes rarer, the prices paid for it will become higher.

"This is the economics and politics of extinction," the organisation said, insisting that corruption, and the rising market value of the Bluefin is preventing any real conservation efforts.

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