NOAA Fisheries issued an email bulletin on July 1 announcing the closure of the trophy bluefin fishery for the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Angling Category in the Southern New England Area, effective July 3. We wanted to remind Northeast recreational anglers of this closure and clarify that this closure only impacts the specific “trophy category” sub-quota for giant bluefin tuna, which commonly closes in July each year due to high participation and limited allocations.
The closure does not affect the standard, ongoing Angling Category fishery for school, large school, or small medium bluefin tuna measuring between 27 inches and less than 73 inches. Anglers can continue to target and retain these smaller size classes under current daily vessel limits.
The restricted Southern New England area is defined as the waters south of 42° N. latitude and north of 39°18′ N. latitude. Because the overall harvest allocation for giant bluefin tuna measuring 73 inches or greater is exceptionally small, recreational vessels are normally restricted to retaining just one of these fish per year, not for sale, until the sub-quota is fully met.
According to NOAA Fisheries, their landings data indicated that the Southern New England trophy sub-quota would be reached or exceeded on or before July 3. As a result, recreational fishermen aboard vessels permitted under the Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Angling category, as well as HMS Charter/Headboat permit holders operating recreationally, are prohibited from retaining, possessing, or landing large medium or giant Atlantic bluefin tuna measuring 73 inches curved fork length or greater within this zone.
Anglers looking for further details on current retention limits, or those needing to purchase a highly migratory species vessel permit for the season, can find resources online at hmspermits.noaa.gov.
