Data / Federal rules / 2025-18218

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries; Closure of the General Category September Fishery for 2025

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration published this final rule in the Federal Register on September 19, 2025. It took effect on September 18, 2025.

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What the agency says

NMFS closes the General category fishery for Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) for the remainder of the September 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 applies to Atlantic Tunas General category (commercial) permitted vessels and Atlantic highly migratory species (HMS) Charter/Headboat permitted vessels with a commercial sale endorsement when fishing commercially for BFT. This action also waives the previously scheduled restricted- fishing days (RFDs) for the remainder of the September 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 October 1, 2025, the fishery will reopen automatically and previously scheduled RFDs for October will resume.

Key facts

Document number: 2025-18218
Type: Final rule
Action: Temporary rule; closure
Agency: Commerce Department; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Published: September 19, 2025
Takes effect: September 18, 2025
Dates: Effective 11:30 p.m., local time, September 18, 2025, through September 30, 2025.
Docket: Docket No. 220919-0193; RTID 0648-XF137
Code of Federal Regulations: 50 CFR 635
Pages: 3

The document on federalregister.gov PDF

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Everything from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration · Published in September 2025

Read from the Federal Register API, last updated 2026-10-23. The document on federalregister.gov is the official record; dates and dockets can change through later corrections. Free to reuse with credit to SpecStream under CC BY 4.0.