Tuna may follow cod to become the second major Atlantic fish species to collapse after European leaders were today accused of driving through new catch quotas far above the levels recommended by scientists.

The international environment campaign group WWF renewed its call for a consumer boycott of Atlantic bluefin tuna - a staple of Japanese sashimi - after countries involved in its trade ignored their own scientific advice, despite a collapse in the fish populations.

WWF also accused the European commission (EC) of leading the pressure for higher quotas by using threats over trade to "bully" developing nations into switching sides from a rival proposal to stick to the scientists' recommendation and ban all fishing during the spawning season in May and June.

Sue Liebermann, head of species at WWF International, warned that the mistakes which led to the collaspe of Atlantic cod – and led the UN's food arm to warn that seven out of 10 of all marine species are depleted - were being repeated. "Bluefin is a symbol of what we're doing to the oceans, species by species," she said.

Xavier Pastor, executive director in Europe for marine conservation group Oceana, said: "They [the EC countries] gave in to the fishing industry's short-term economic interests. With this decision, we can only wait for the disappearance of bluefin tuna."

The EC did not want to comment on accusations of bullying. But, it said, because it was "mandated" by member states, it had "pushed for" a package of measures which included the higher quota, a shortening of the fishing season from six to two months and tougher rules to stop illegal catches.

"A [quota] is not enough in itself to protect fish stocks; a reduced [quota] accompanied by a shorter season and increased control is the solution to preserving this resource," said Nathalie Charbonneau, spokeswoman for the EC fisheries and maritime affairs department.

Scientists at the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (Iccat) warned in 2006 that bluefish tuna numbers in the east Atlantic and Mediterranean had dropped to one-fifth of their levels in the mid-1970s, and massive illegal fishing was leading to annual catches as high as 50,000 tonnes.

Their report warned that "a collapse in the near future is a possibility". It called for the legal quota to be more than halved from 32,000 to 15,000 tonnes and for a ban on all fishing in the spawning period during May and June.

Yesterday, Iccat member nations, led by the EC and several north African countries, voted to cut the quota to 22,000 tonnes - defeating a rival notion to stick to the scientists' advice led by the US, Canada and Norway.

WWF said it would now ask the international body the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) to list Atlantic bluefin as an "appendix 1" species, which would put a ban on international trade and switch off the lucrative market in Japan where most of the fish are sold.

A previous attempt to get Cites to take action in the 1990s was defeated when Iccat pledged to take its own measures to protect the bluefin, said Sergi Tudela, head of WWF's Mediterranean fisheries programme. "Sixteen years later it's clear to the world that Iccat has failed, now it's time to go very serious with CITES," said Tudela.