SUSTAINABLE
FISHERIES
Introduction to Artisanal Fisheries
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Fishing Regulations
Not all fishing regulations can be found with the below links. The links provided below take you to the essential fishing regulations for U.S. Atlantic tunas. With the exception of the links immediately below that pertain only to reporting of bluefin catch, all the other links provided relate to all U.S. Atlantic tunas i.e. yellowfin, bluefin, bigeye, skipjack and albacore tuna.
SPECIAL REGULATIONS FOR BLUEFIN TUNA:
Mandatory reporting requirements for all Bluefin tuna fishermen
All General Category, HMS Charter/Headboat Category, Harpoon Category and Recreational Category vessel owners are now required to report the catch of Atlantic Bluefin tuna (retained or discarded).
[For the Recreational Fishery and Charter/Headboat Fishery (when fishing recreationally), the relevant rule is the final rule implementing the 1999 HMS Fishery Management Plan (64 FR 29090 of May 28, 1999). For the General, Harpoon and Charter/Headboat Categories (when fishing commercially), the relevant rule is the final rule to implement Amendment 7 to the 2006 Consolidated HMS Fishery Management Plan (79 FR 71510 of December 2, 2014).]
To report bluefin landings:
Go to hmspermits.noaa.gov and click on “View Details” under the “Fish Reporting” header to begin the process, or access this link: https://hmspermits.noaa.gov/catchReports
FOR ALL ATLANTIC TUNAS (INCLUDING BLUEFIN):
Stay Informed of the latest HMS news and announcements:
Atlantic tunas fishermen can subscribe for free to the HMS email news bulletins which can include important in-season changes in regulations such as retention limits and other important information. Go to the following link to sign up for these email alerts: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/news/news_list/index.html
Recreational catch reporting requirements for tropical tunas:
Cooperation with Large Pelagic Survey dockside and telephone interviewers is mandated under authority of the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act and is a condition of the Atlantic Tunas Permit.
For all Atlantic tunas retention (“bag”) limits:
Access this link: https://hmspermits.noaa.gov/news and scroll down to find the announcement for retention limits for your category. Retention limits are set each year and can change from year to year or even within a given season.