NOAA Fisheries has transferred 9.5 metric tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin tuna quota from the Reserve category to the General category, and 20.2 mt from the Harpoon category to the General category for the December time period. This action provides additional opportunity for General category fishermen to participate in the December General category fishery, which begins December 1, 2021. The adjusted December 2021 subquota is 39.1 mt.
Who is affected?
This action applies to commercial Atlantic Tunas General category permitted vessels and to Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Charter/Headboat permitted vessels with a commercial sale endorsement when fishing commercially for bluefin tuna.
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, General category and HMS Charter/Headboat 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.).
This notice is a courtesy to fishery participants to help keep you informed about the fishery. Official notice of Federal fishery actions is made through filing such notice with the Office of the Federal Register.
More information can be found in the Federal Register Notice.
