"Given the serious overfishing that has happened in the past, we need to rebuild the stocks as rapidly as possible," said Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The 48-member International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), convening in Paris through November 27, sets the rules and catch limits for Atlantic fisheries, and monitors compliance.

"Based on the scientific advice and the need for precaution, we believe that a reduction in the total allowable catch is appropriate for both the eastern and western stocks," she said in an interview.

ICCAT scientists calculate that extending the 2010 annual quota of 13,500 tonnes through 2013 would put the species on track for a 60-percent probability of reaching so-called "maximum sustainable yield" by 2022.

For Lubchenco, a 60 percent chance of success is not good enough. "It needs to go further than that," she said.

But just how deep those cuts should be, she would not say: "It is premature to put a number on the table. We are in the process of actual negotiations."

The US position echoes one adopted late Wednesday by the European Union after weeks of intense internal bickering among member states.

The compromise stance mandates the EU commissioner to seek a "stable or partially reduced quota" that could, according to one diplomat, shave 2,000 tonnes off the 2010 limit of 13,500.

In the run-up to the meeting, fishing nations led by France, Spain, Italy and Malta called for the 2010 cap to be rolled over for another year.

EU Fisheries commissioner Maria Damanaki, backed by Britain, wanted the quota slashed to 6,000 tonnes.

Conservation groups say industrial-scale tuna fishing in the Mediterranean, a spawning ground, should be suspended altogether.

ICCAT has allocated quotas for western bluefin since 1982, and for eastern stocks -- including in the Mediterranean -- since 1994.

While the western stock has stabilised thanks to strict enforcement efforts, eastern Atlantic bluefin numbers have plummeted 85 percent over three decades due to rampant overfishing, much of it illegal.

Until this year, ICCAT routinely set catch allowance for the eastern region far higher than those recommended by its own scientific committee.

Lubchenco said the organisation has recently taken key steps to "respect science" and crack down on cheating, but that there is still much room for progress.

"ICCAT needs to demonstrate that it's capable of making tough decisions and addressing the past failures of compliance," she said.

She also underscored the key position of Japan, which consumes nearly 80 percent of the tuna extracted from the eastern Atlantic in the form of sushi and sashimi.

"Japan has an absolutely critical role to play. It has a serious responsibility, and I think they take these issues very seriously."

On Thursday, during a closed-door meeting in which compliance of ICCAT members was reviewed, a Japanese delegate criticized the poor performance of some nations, according to someone present.

"Countries that want to sell tuna to Japan had better start to work properly," said the source, who asked not to be named.

The United States will also table proposals to protect sharks, especially the bigeye thresher and the short-fin mako, Lubchenco said.

Tens of millions of the open water predators are killed every year to satisfy a burgeoning appetite for shark fins, a Chinese delicacy.

One US proposal would require that some sharks captured in the Atlantic be brought to shore with their fins attached, in part to help scientists gather data and keep track of which species are most vulnerable.

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