Global demand for the southern bluefin tuna could be about to drive it off menus all together.

The Humane Society International says that stocks of southern bluefin tuna are at critically low levels, and unless there is a total suspension of fishing for the species, it won’t have a chance of recovering.

On Friday, the major southern bluefin tuna fishing countries met in South Korea to decide upon limits for the 2010 catch.

The Australian government is reportedly recommending a 50 per cent cut – a considerable blow to an industry worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

But even a 50 per cent reduction is well short of the zero catch called for by the Humane Society and other environmental groups.

Fergus Grieve spoke to Nicola Benyon from the Humane Society International.

UPDATE: And late on Friday the meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna concluded with an agreement to cut the worldwide catch by 20 per cent next year, with Australia taking a 30 per cent cut to its quota.