August 18, 2026 — In a major win for America’s fishing industry, NOAA Fisheries is implementing increased bluefin tuna quotas after historic negotiations by the United States at the 2025 annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). Today’s action—alongside additional quota increases for bluefin tuna, North and South Atlantic swordfish, and North Atlantic albacore—will dramatically expand access, create new fishing opportunities, and provide greater flexibility for U.S. fishermen.
U.S. pelagic longline fishermen who incidentally catch Atlantic bluefin tuna will also benefit from significantly greater operational flexibility. Through successful negotiations, the U.S. ICCAT delegation also secured a substantial increase in the bluefin tuna bycatch set-aside quota. It accounts for the catch of eastern Atlantic-origin bluefin tuna by U.S. vessels operating in the vicinity of the ICCAT bluefin tuna management area boundary and adjacent areas (i.e., western Atlantic exclusive of the Gulf of America). NOAA Fisheries has incorporated this increased allocation into its Individual Bluefin Tuna Quota program, providing additional opportunities for the fleet.