The ups and downs of bluefin tuna fishing this season officially bottomed out on August 8, 2025 as NOAA Fisheries announced that the Angling category for Atlantic bluefin was coming to a complete and utter closure as of 11:30 p.m. on August 12. Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Angling and HMS Charter/Headboat permitted vessels fishing recreationally for bluefin tuna are effectively done bluefin fishing through the rest of 2025.
“Based on the best available landings information, the Angling category bluefin tuna preliminary adjusted quota, including the Gulf of Maine Trophy quota, has been reached,” NOAA stated in their official bulletin.
Earlier this season, NOAA Fisheries issued notice that Angling and For-Hire permit holders would only be allowed one school bluefin tuna from 27 to 47 inches. Based on heavy blowback from the recreational fishing community, NOAA readjusted the limits effective July 1 with Angling category vessels allowed one bluefin from 27 to less than 73 inches, and HMS permitted Charter/Headboat vessels getting two bluefin from 27 to less than 73 inches (only one of which could be from 47 to less than 73 inches).
While NOAA Fisheries has been the target of angler animosity for shutting down the entire fishery just 42 days later, bluefin tuna is managed internationally through the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), a treaty organization consisting of 52 member nations. ICCAT sets total allowable catch limits for Atlantic bluefin tuna and allocates country-specific quotas.
The U.S. share of the total allowable catch for western Atlantic bluefin tuna as per ICCAT equates to 1,316 metric tons, or about 20,000 fish. The commercial share (General and Harpoon categories) comes in at just over 1000 metric tons, where the recreational sector (Angling and For-Hire) gets just under the 300 metric tons. While the angling “quota” is essentially filled, the commercial fishery is not affected by this closure (until their share of the quota is filled.)
According to NOAA Fisheries, recreational fishermen may continue to catch-and-release, or tag and release, bluefin tuna of all sizes, subject to the requirements of the catch-and-release and tag-and-release programs. “Additionally, recreational fishermen may continue to recreationally harvest other highly migratory species, including other tunas, during this closure,” the agency noted.
For more information visit NOAA Fisheries’ Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Permit Shop at hmspermits.noaa.gov.
