Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries; Closure of the General Category October Through November Fishery for 2026

Issuing agencies

Abstract

NMFS closes the General category fishery for Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) for the remainder of the October through November time period. The General category may only retain, possess, or land large medium and giant (i.e., measuring 73 inches (185 centimeters (cm) curved fork length (CFL) or greater) BFT when the fishery is open. This action also waives the previously scheduled restricted-fishing days (RFDs) for the remainder of the October through November time period. With the RFDs waived during the closure, fishermen aboard General category permitted vessels and HMS Charter/Headboat permitted vessels may tag and release BFT of all sizes, subject to the requirements of the catch-and-release and tag-and-release programs. On December 1, 2026, the fishery will reopen automatically.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 201 (Tuesday, October 20, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 201 (Tuesday, October 20, 2026)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 66288-66290]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-21450]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 635

[Docket No. 260813-0186; RTID 0648-XG124]


Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna 
Fisheries; Closure of the General Category October Through November 
Fishery for 2026

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure.

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SUMMARY: NMFS closes the General category fishery for Atlantic bluefin 
tuna (BFT) for the remainder of the October through November time 
period. The General category may only retain, possess, or land large 
medium and giant

[[Page 66289]]

(i.e., measuring 73 inches (185 centimeters (cm) curved fork length 
(CFL) or greater) BFT when the fishery is open. This action also waives 
the previously scheduled restricted-fishing days (RFDs) for the 
remainder of the October through November time period. With the RFDs 
waived during the closure, fishermen aboard General category permitted 
vessels and HMS Charter/Headboat permitted vessels may tag and release 
BFT of all sizes, subject to the requirements of the catch-and-release 
and tag-and-release programs. On December 1, 2026, the fishery will 
reopen automatically.

DATES: Effective 11:30 p.m., local time, October 17, 2026, through 
November 30, 2026.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Becky Curtis, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#accec9cfc7d582cfd9ded8c5dfecc2c3cdcd82cbc3da"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="452720262e3c6b263037312c36052b2a24246b222a33">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>, 
or Larry Redd, Jr., <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a4c8c5d6d6dd8ad6c1c0c0e4cacbc5c58ac3cbd2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="cfa3aebdbdb6e1bdaaabab8fa1a0aeaee1a8a0b9">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>, by email, or by phone at 301-
427-8503.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Atlantic BFT fisheries are managed under the 
2006 Consolidated Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan (HMS 
FMP) and its amendments, pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act; 16 U.S.C. 1801 
et seq.) and consistent with the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA; 
16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.). ATCA is the implementing statute for binding 
recommendations of the International Commission for the Conservation of 
Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). The HMS FMP and its amendments are implemented 
by regulations at 50 CFR part 635. Section 635.27(a) divides the U.S. 
BFT quota, established by ICCAT and as implemented by the United States 
among the various domestic fishing categories, per the allocations 
established in the HMS FMP and its amendments. NMFS is required under 
the Magnuson-Stevens Act at 16 U.S.C. 1854(g)(1)(D) to provide U.S. 
fishing vessels with a reasonable opportunity to harvest quotas under 
relevant international fishery agreements such as the ICCAT Convention, 
which is implemented domestically pursuant to ATCA.
    Under Sec.  635.28(a)(1), NMFS files a closure action with the 
Office of the Federal Register for publication when a BFT quota (or 
subquota) is reached or is projected to be reached. Retaining, 
possessing, or landing BFT under that quota category is prohibited on 
or after the effective date and time of a closure action for that 
category until the opening of the relevant subsequent quota period or 
until such date as specified.
    NMFS recently published a final rule, which among other things, 
increased the BFT quota from 1,316.14 metric tons (mt) to 1,509.98 mt 
(not including the 62.5 mt ICCAT allocated to the U.S. to account for 
bycatch of BFT in pelagic longline fisheries in the vicinity of the 
management boundary and adjacent areas) (91 FR 53526, August 19, 2026). 
As described in Sec.  635.27(a), the General category baseline quota is 
815.4 mt. The General category baseline quota is suballocated to time 
periods. Relevant to this action, the baseline subquota for the October 
through November time period is 106 mt. On October 6, 2026, NMFS 
adjusted the October through November subquota to 192.9 mt (91 FR 
64302, October 8, 2026).

Closure of the October Through November 2026 BFT General Category 
Fishery

    Based on reported landings to date for the BFT General category 
October through November time period, NMFS has determined that the 
subquota for this time period is projected to be reached shortly. 
Therefore, retaining, possessing, or landing large medium or giant 
(i.e., measuring 73 inches (185 cm) CFL or greater) BFT by persons 
aboard vessels permitted in the Atlantic Tunas General category and HMS 
Charter/Headboat permitted vessels (while fishing commercially) must 
cease at 11:30 p.m. local time on October 17, 2026. The BFT General 
category will automatically reopen December 1, 2026, for the December 
2026 time period. This action applies to Atlantic Tunas General 
category (commercial) permitted vessels and HMS Charter/Headboat 
permitted vessels with a commercial sale endorsement when fishing 
commercially for BFT and is taken consistent with the regulations at 
Sec.  635.28(a)(1).

Waiver for Remaining October Through November RFDs

    On May 31, 2024 (89 FR 47095), NMFS published a final rule, which, 
among other things, implemented RFDs every Tuesday, Friday, and 
Saturday from July 1 through November 30 of each year. Since the 
fishery will be closed for the remainder of the October through 
November time period, NMFS has decided to waive the previously 
scheduled RFDs for the remainder of that time period.
    With the RFDs waived during a closure, consistent with Sec.  
635.23(a)(7) fishermen aboard General category permitted vessels and 
HMS Charter/Headboat permitted vessels may tag and release BFT of all 
sizes, subject to the requirements of the catch-and-release and tag-
and-release programs described at Sec.  635.26(a). All BFT that are 
released must be handled in a manner that will maximize their survival, 
and without removing the fish from the water, consistent with 
requirements at Sec.  635.21(a)(1). For additional information on safe 
handling, see the ``Careful Catch and Release'' brochure available at 
<a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/outreach-and-education/careful-catch-and-release-brochure/">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/outreach-and-education/careful-catch-and-release-brochure/</a>.

Monitoring and Reporting

    NMFS will continue to monitor the BFT fisheries closely. Per Sec.  
635.5(b)(2)(i)(A), dealers are required to submit landing reports 
within 24 hours of receiving BFT. Late reporting by dealers compromises 
NMFS' ability to timely implement actions such as quota and retention 
limit adjustments, as well as closures, and may result in enforcement 
actions. Additionally, and separate from the dealer reporting 
requirement, General and HMS Charter/Headboat category vessel owners 
are required per Sec.  635.5(a)(4) to report their own catch of all BFT 
retained or discarded dead within 24 hours of the landing(s) or end of 
each trip, by accessing <a href="https://hmspermits.noaa.gov">https://hmspermits.noaa.gov</a>, using the HMS 
Catch Reporting app, or calling 888-872-8862 (Monday through Friday 
from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. E.T.).
    After the fishery reopens on December 1, depending on the level of 
fishing effort and catch rates of BFT at that time, and after 
consideration of all the criteria specified at Sec.  635.27(a)(7), NMFS 
may determine that additional adjustments are necessary to ensure 
available subquotas are not exceeded or to enhance scientific data 
collection from, and fishing opportunities in, all geographic areas. If 
needed, subsequent adjustments will be published in the Federal 
Register. In addition, fishermen may access <a href="https://hmspermits.noaa.gov">https://hmspermits.noaa.gov</a>, for updates on quota monitoring and inseason 
adjustments.

Classification

    NMFS issues this action pursuant to section 305(d) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1855(d)) and regulations at 50 CFR part 635, and 
this action is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.
    The Assistant Administrator for NMFS (AA) finds that pursuant to 5 
U.S.C. 553(b)(B), there is good cause to waive prior notice of, and an 
opportunity for public comment on this action because it is 
impracticable and contrary to the public interest for the following 
reasons. Specifically, the regulations implementing the HMS FMP and 
amendments provide for inseason

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retention limit adjustments and fishery closures to respond to the 
unpredictable nature of BFT availability on the fishing grounds, the 
migratory nature of this species, and the regional variations in the 
BFT fishery. Providing for prior notice and an opportunity to comment 
is impracticable and contrary to the public interest as this fishery is 
currently underway and, based on the most recent landings information, 
the available time period subquota is projected to be reached shortly. 
Delaying this action could result in BFT landings that exceed the 
adjusted October through November time period subquota, which may 
result in future potential quota reductions for other BFT categories or 
the 2027 General category quota, depending on the magnitude of a 
potential General category overharvest. Taking this action does not 
raise conservation and management concerns and would support effective 
management of the BFT fishery. NMFS notes that the public had an 
opportunity to comment on the underlying rulemakings that established 
the U.S. BFT quota, and the inseason adjustment and closure criteria.
    For all of the above reasons, the AA also finds that pursuant to 5 
U.S.C. 553(d)(3), there is good cause to waive the 30-day delay in 
effective date.
    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. and 1801 et seq.

    Dated: October 16, 2026.
Shannon Bettridge,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2026-21450 Filed 10-16-26; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P


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