NOAA Fisheries is announcing the 2023-2024 biennial catch limit for the commercial Pacific bluefin tuna fishery in the Eastern Pacific Ocean (88 FR 69098, October 5, 2023).
- As of August 22, 2023, 587 mt of PBF were caught by U.S. commercial vessels during the 2021-2022 biennial management period (217 mt in 2021 and 370 mt in 2022).
- In accordance with the final rule implementing IATTC Resolution C-21-05, underharvest during the 2021-2022 biennial management period may be carried over into the next biennial management period; the amount may not exceed 5% of the 2021-2022 catch limit (i.e., 37 mt).
- Therefore, in 2023-2024, the biennial catch limit is being increased by 37 mt from 1,017 to 1,054 mt.
- During the 2023-2024 biennial management period, the one-year maximum of 720 mt remains unchanged as a result of this announcement; in other words, for 2023, the catch limit is 720 mt.
- The annual catch limit for 2024 will be announced at the beginning of that year.
Please refer to the Pacific bluefin tuna harvest webpage for additional information.
For more information, contact
Tyler Lawson, NMFS WCR Highly Migratory Species Fish Biologist, at Phone: (503) 230-5421 Email: tyler.lawson@noaa.gov.
