General Category Bluefin Fishery to Close for January through March Subquota Period

Fishermen aboard vessels with an Atlantic Tunas General or Atlantic Highly Migratory Species
(HMS) Charter/Headboat category permit may not retain, possess, or land large medium or giant
Atlantic bluefin tuna after 11:30 p.m., February 27, 2021.

How long is the closure in effect?

The General category bluefin tuna fishery will reopen on June 1, 2021 with the default daily/trip retention limit of one fish per vessel.

Why is the fishery closing?

Based on the best available landings information, the 75-mt quota for the January through March time period will be reached shortly.

Who is affected?

This action applies to all vessels permitted in the Atlantic Tunas General category and Atlantic HMS Charter/Headboat category (with a commercial sale endorsement when fishing commercially for bluefin tuna).

Reporting

Atlantic Tunas General, Harpoon, and HMS Charter/Headboat category vessel owners are required to report 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 permit holders 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.