Retention Limit Adjustments: Atlantic Bluefin Tuna General Category and Harpoon Category Fisheries

NOAA Fisheries is adjusting the Atlantic bluefin tuna daily retention limits for both the General category and Harpoon category fisheries.

What are the retention limits?

General category:

• 1 large medium or giant bluefin tuna (i.e., measuring 73 inches or greater curved fork length) per vessel per day/trip.
• Effective June 1 through June 30, 2025 unless modified by a later action.

Harpoon category:

• 5 large medium and giant bluefin tuna (i.e., measuring 73 inches or greater curved fork length), combined, per vessel per day/trip; no more than 2 of the 5 can be large medium bluefin tuna (i.e., measuring 73 inches to less than 81 inches curved fork length).
• Effective June 1 through November 15, 2025 unless modified by a later action.

Who is affected?

These changes apply to either: General category permitted vessels and Highly Migratory Species Charter/Headboat permitted vessels with a commercial sale endorsement when fishing commercially for bluefin tuna (General category limits); or exclusively to commercial vessels with an Atlantic Tunas Harpoon category permit (Harpoon category limits). The daily retention limits are effective for all areas except for the Gulf of America, where NOAA Fisheries does not allow targeted fishing for bluefin tuna.

Vessels fishing recreationally for Atlantic Highly Migratory Species are not affected by these changes.

Consistent with Executive Order (E.O.) 14172 (Restoring Names that Honor American Greatness), this document uses Gulf of America for all references to the area known as the Gulf of Mexico in the specific regulations at 50 CFR part 635.