Japan's agriculture minister said on Friday his country will head the fight to ensure controlled fishing of bluefin tuna and prevent poaching the endangered fish.

Following the Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species (CITES) decision to vote down a proposal for a ban on the international trade of this popular fish, the ban was supported only by 20 out of 175 member nations of the organization which gathered in Doha, Qatar, on Thursday to discuss the proposal put forward by Monaco.

"We will intensify our efforts to control these [bluefin tuna] resources and prevent illegal harvesting of these fish. We believe we have the responsibility to show leadership in control over these resources," Hirotaka Akamatsu told reporters.

Japan, which consumes about 80% of bluefin harvested worldwide, has been a target of criticism for endangering tuna populations in the Atlantic.

According to a report by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), over 32,000 tons of bluefin tuna were exported to Japan in 2007, while the total allowable catch for that year was just 29,500 tons.

Japan lobbied extensively against the ban on tuna imports saying that such a measure would be ineffective as long as there is no strict control over the harvesting of tuna in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.

The ICCAT lowered the fishing quotas for bluefin tuna from 22,000 tons to 13,500 tons this year. However, many nature preservation experts believe that the annual illegal catch of tuna exceeds the official by at least 40%.

TOKYO, March 19 (RIA Novosti)