Adjustments to the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Purse Seine and Reserve Category Quotas and the General category January-March 2021 Subquota

NOAA Fisheries has reallocated 164.5 metric tons (mt) of bluefin tuna quota from the Purse Seine to the Reserve category. The available quota for the 2021 Purse Seine category is 55 mt.

We have also transferred 26 mt of quota from the 2021 Reserve category to the 2021 General category, resulting in an adjusted January through March subquota of 75 mt and an adjusted Reserve category quota of 168 mt.

Who is affected?

This action applies to commercial General category permitted vessels, to HMS Charter/Headboat
category permitted vessels with a commercial sale endorsement when fishing commercially for
bluefin tuna, and to Purse Seine category participants.

Catch reporting

Dealers are required to submit landing reports within 24 hours of receiving bluefin tuna. Late dealer reporting compromises NOAA Fisheries’ ability to implement actions such as quota and retention limit adjustments or fishery closures and may result in enforcement actions.

Separate from the dealer reporting requirement, Harpoon category permitted vessel owners are required to report the catch of all bluefin tuna retained or discarded dead within 24 hours of the landing(s) or end of each trip by:

• Accessing the HMS Permit Shop.
• Using the HMS Catch Reporting app.
• Calling 888-872-8862 (Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.)