In accordance with the Atlantic bluefin tuna quota regulations, NOAA Fisheries has determined the 2018 Purse Seine category quota available to Purse Seine category participants is 46.1 metric tons (mt). The amount of Purse Seine category quota reallocated to the Reserve category is 138.2 mt. This reallocation would result in an adjusted 2018 Reserve category quota of 153 mt before any further transfers to other categories.
NOAA Fisheries has transferred 44.5 mt of bluefin tuna quota from the 2018 Reserve category to the 2018 Longline category, resulting in an adjusted 2018 Longline quota of 192.8 mt. This transfer is intended to increase the amount of quota available to individual vessels.
As a result of this quota transfer, NOAA Fisheries is distributing 1,102 lb (0.5 mt) of quota to each of the 89 permitted Atlantic Tunas Longline vessels with recent fishing activity. IBQ allocation will be distributed by April 16, 2018.
Longline category permit holders are reminded that all bluefin tuna discarded dead must be reported through the Vessel Monitoring System, and accounted for in the electronic (online) IBQ system. NOAA Fisheries will continue to monitor the bluefin tuna fisheries, including the pelagic longline fishery, through the mandatory landings and catch reports.
