Data / Federal rules / 2026-00848

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

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration published this final rule in the Federal Register on January 16, 2026. It took effect on January 14, 2026.

SpecStream is the live web data engine for teams and agents. It reads every rule and proposed rule in the Federal Register each morning, and this page is that reading. Name your industry once and new rules, comment deadlines and effective dates arrive in your sheet, CRM, Slack or agent as they are published.

Get new rules for your industry

What the agency says

NMFS closes the General category fishery for Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) for the remainder of the January through March 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. 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 catch-and-release and tag-and-release programs. On June 1, 2026, the fishery will reopen automatically.

Key facts

Document number: 2026-00848
Type: Final rule
Action: Temporary rule; closure
Agency: Commerce Department; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Published: January 16, 2026
Takes effect: January 14, 2026
Dates: Effective 11:30 p.m., local time, January 14, 2026, through March 31, 2026.
Docket: Docket No. 220919-0193; RTID 0648-XF428
Code of Federal Regulations: 50 CFR 635
Pages: 2

The document on federalregister.gov PDF

Other documents from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Document	Type	Published
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod by Catcher Vessels Using Trawl Gear in the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska 2026-21680	Final rule	Oct 23
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pollock in Statistical Area 620 in the Gulf of Alaska 2026-21676	Final rule	Oct 23
Fisheries Off West Coast States; Modification of the West Coast Salmon Fisheries; Inseason Action #1-#11 2026-21607	Final rule	Oct 22
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Reallocation of Pacific Cod in the Western Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska 2026-21556	Final rule	Oct 21
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Modify Groundfish Season Timing in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska Groundfish Fisheries 2026-21507	Proposed rule	Oct 21
Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries; Closure of the General Category October Through November Fishery for 2026 2026-21450	Final rule	Oct 20
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Reallocation of Atka Mackerel in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area 2026-21239	Final rule	Oct 16
Fishery Management Plans of St. Croix and St. Thomas and St. John; Spiny Lobster Management Measures 2026-21205	Proposed rule	Oct 16

Everything from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration · Published in January 2026

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.