The federal government should choose science over profit when deciding whether to list Atlantic bluefin tuna as an endangered species, says Green Party Leader Elizabeth May.

Sushi-quality tuna can fetch high prices. AP Photo/Bullit Marquez

Earlier this week the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife, an independent group that provides advice to the federal environment minister, recommended designating tuna as endangered.

In response to that recommendation, Department of Fisheries and Oceans spokesman Frank Stanek said the department would consider the economic and social impacts of such a listing along with the scientific evidence. Green Party Leader Elizabeth May said in a news release Thursday she was extremely concerned by those remarks.

"This is yet another example of the lack of commitment of the federal government to the moral responsibility to prevent the extinction of plants and animals," said May.

The news release went on to say Canada has plenty of evidence of what happens when economic interests trump the protection of fish species.