By Tamara McLean
Pacific tuna will be vulnerable to severe overfishing for another year after negotiations to protect one of the species most threatened failed.
Asian fishing nations Korea, China, Taiwan and Japan have blocked calls from small Pacific countries to cut bigeye tuna fishing on the high seas by 50 per cent.
Instead, those gathered at the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission meeting in Tahiti stuck with the 10 per cent reduction planned for 2010.
Greenpeace said this "criminal" result falls far short of scientific recommendations for sustainable fishing of bigeye, a sought-after sashimi fish that is at risk of becoming the next bluefin.
"It is beyond belief that Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan are unable to follow the advice given to them by their own scientists and continue to prioritise short term economic gains over the need to ensure long-term sustainable supplies of tuna to their own consumers," said Lagi Toribau, Greenpeace Australia Pacific oceans campaigner in Tahiti.
"This is an economic and social crime that is repeated in ocean after ocean, year after year, and which will soon lead to the disappearance of the world's favourite fish - tuna."
Over half of the world's tuna comes from the central Pacific region.
Pacific countries under threat from climate change have been fighting to protect their stocks but increasing numbers are falling prey to unsustainable fishing in unregulated zones that fall outside their own waters.
The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) international talks make decisions on fishing in these huge areas of open sea.
Greenpeace applauded a 2008 commission decision to protect two large high seas pockets from purse seine fishing that comes into affect next month.
But the environmental group wants more protection for two other pockets to the east it says are "extremely vulnerable" to illegal and over-fishing by Asian nations, particularly Taiwan.
"Asian distant water fishing nations have shown that they have no intention of working with Pacific island countries to conserve tuna stocks and ensure that the development aspirations of the small island states are met," Mr Toribau said.
"The Pacific must now build on the solidarity they have shown in recent years to reject fishing by nations that are threatening Pacific resources, livelihoods and futures."