Monaco, meanwhile, also worked the corridors at the 175-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Doha, seeking votes for its proposed trade ban on bluefin caught in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean.

When the issue comes to a vote next week, the future of a species and a multi-billion-dollar business could hang in the balance.

Japan, which buys three-quarters of the global catch of bluefin, is campaigning fiercely to prevent catches from these two fisheries from falling under CITES' Appendix I, which outlaws all international commerce.

Up to now, this status has been primarily reserved for iconic fauna such as big cats, primates and elephants rather than a mainstream commercial species.

In an interview with AFP, top Japanese negotiator Masanori Miyahara described the proposed ban as unworkable and unfair, and took aim at supporters of the moratorium.

"We are very serious about bluefin tuna," he said.

"If they are really concerned about the future of the bluefin tuna, let's stop the fishing -- that's the best way," Miyahara said.

For Monaco, Appendix I is a lifeline without which the species will slip towards extinction.

"We have gotten to the point where the collapse of stocks in the wild is inevitable," said Patrick Van Klaveren, the principality's top negotiator in Doha.

Scientists agree that bluefin stocks in the Atlantic and Mediterranean have crashed, with populations declining by up to 80 percent from only three or four decades ago.

"Let's leave the species alone for five or 10 years to give it a chance to avoid certain catastrophe," said Van Klaveren.

Miyahara sniped at the United States and the European Union, saying they backed a ban knowing that under CITES rules they could still harvest the species in their domestic waters for consumption at home.

"They are saying Appendix I is okay because their fishermen will continue the fishing and sale for the domestic market," he said. "That is unfair."

Tokyo acknowledges that bluefin are in trouble, but says the solution lies with enforcing existing quotas set by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), the inter-governmental fishery group responsible for tuna stocks in the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas.

Japan is pressing for support from neighbours South Korea and China to thwart the two-thirds vote needed from delegates. It has also been campaigning hard with African countries, say sources.

If no agreement is reached on Thursday -- a near certainty -- CITES will form a working group to hash out the issue behind closed doors, and perhaps craft a compromise proposal.

Europe, which remains divided internally, "risks getting into some very complicated discussion," said Laurent Stefanini, head of the French delegation.

Australia has called for an Appendix II listing for Atlantic bluefin, which would allow cross-border trade to continue, but under more stringent monitoring and rules.

Environmental groups retort that this would simply serve as a cover for business as usual, and point out that ICCAT has failed over three decades to enforce its own quotas.

Miyahara insisted Japan could do without the prized delicacy, which sells for up to 170,000 dollars (125,000 euros) a fish in Toyko, and 25 dollars a morsel in high-end restaurants.

"If bluefin doesn't come to the Japanese market, no problem, we can give it up!" he said.

The species only accounts for three percent of the "high quality tuna" consumed in Japan, he added.

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