Italy was among five countries named in an EU ban on bluefin tuna fishing in the Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic that will come into force on Monday.
EU fisheries spokeswoman Nathalie Charbonneau said the ban - which calls a halt to tuna fishing two weeks earlier than normal - was necessary because allocated quotas of the fish have already been exhausted.
Italian fishermen reacted angrily to the news saying that the tuna fish season in Italy has yet to get underway because of bad weather, and Agriculture Minister Luca Zaia asked EU Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg to reverse the decision.
''I do not agree with the (EU) decision, both because it lacks grounds and because it undervalues the social and economic impact that the measure will have on a sector already in full-blown crisis,'' Zaia said.
The EU ban applies specifically to a method of fishing that involves encircling tuna shoals with a net using several boats before hauling the catch on board.
France, Greece, Malta and Cyprus are the other countries banned from bluefin tuna fishing from June 16. Spain's ban comes into effect on June 23.
