Marine Management Organisation
Commercial trial fishery 2023
The MMO and Defra are running a trial commercial fishery for bluefin tuna in the UK on behalf of the UK Fisheries Authorities.
The trial fishery will be open from 1 August to 30 November 2023 subject to ICCAT registry. Read about the bluefin tuna commercial trial fishery.
Only authorised UK commercial vessels will be allowed to take part in the trial. The UK Single Issuing Authority (UKSIA) will make up to 10 licence authorisations available across the UK following a successful application. Vessels from England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland may apply to take part in the trial, but fishing for bluefin tuna will not be permitted in Welsh or Northern Irish waters in 2023.
Licence authorisations will be non-transferable and valid for the 2023 fishing season only. Licence authorisations will not provide successful applicants with a track record for future quota considerations and provide no guarantee of access to bluefin tuna quota in future.
All catches must be recorded using paper or electronic logbooks at sea and reported to the UK Fisheries Monitoring Centre (UKFMC) or UK single liaison office (UKSLO).
All fishing vessels involved in the trial must register on the ICCAT Electronic Bluefin Tuna Catch Document Programme (eBCD) online system and will be required to report their catches on that system.
Who can apply
Applications from individuals and groups are welcome.
To be eligible to apply you must:
- have a commercial fishing licence and be registered in either England, Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland
- have a vessel under 15 metres in length
- use rod and reel fishing gears which only use lures no live bait or chumming will be permitted
- agree to be contacted as part of a formal evaluation of the trial
Applicants will be required to submit a fishing and marketing plan.
How to apply
To apply to take part in the trial fishery, download and fill in
You must apply by 14 July 2023.
To submit your expression of interest, you can either:
- email your form to UKSIA@marinemanagement.org.uk
- post your form to:
Marine Management Organisation
C/o Liz Gee
Pakefield Road, Lowestoft
NR33 0HT
The UKSIA will notify successful applicants before the trial starts on 1 August 2023. Vessels will have to register with the ICCAT registry before successful applicants can commence fishing.
Get help
If you have any questions about the trial or how to apply, please contact the UKSIA. Email UKSIA@marinemanagement.org.uk
Status of bluefin tuna
Eastern Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) is a highly migratory species which for several years appeared to be absent from UK waters. Scientific surveys and sightings by members of the public suggest an increased number of them in UK waters. The reasons for this increase are not clear but are likely due to shifts in distribution. Changes in environmental or prey conditions or increases in stock size could have caused these shifts.
The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) is the international Regional Fisheries Management Organisation managing Atlantic bluefin tuna. The UK funds the Thunnus UK project, as part of the ICCAT Grand Bluefin Tuna Year Programme (GBYP) research activities. Thunnus provides an understanding of the ecology of Eastern Atlantic bluefin tuna in waters of the British Isles.
In 2021, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) changed their entry for Eastern Atlantic bluefin tuna from endangered to least concern. This reflects the improving state of the stock. The only recent labelling of Eastern Atlantic bluefin tuna as least concern underlines a need for a continued cautious approach to its management.
In 2020, ICCAT received advice from its Standing Committee on Research and Statistics (SCRS) that the stock was increasing and unlikely to be subject to overfishing. The SCRS acknowledges these assessments and stock projections include a degree of uncertainty. This uncertainty relates to some aspects of the bluefin tuna life history and the models used. The 2020 bluefin tuna SCRS advice is available in this report.
What to do with caught bluefin tuna
2021 is the first year in which the UK holds its own bluefin tuna quota. Under this quota, allocations have been made to account for incidental mortality arising from the catch-and-release tagging programme (CHART) and for unavoidable by-catch in commercial fisheries.
Catch and Release Tagging Programme (CHART)
CHART is a scientific catch-and-release tagging programme for 2021. Skippers who have been selected for the CHART programme will secure a Marine Management Organisation (MMO) scientific licence. These selected skippers will be trained by the CHART programme in catching, tagging and data recording techniques so that they can contribute to bluefin tuna research. This is done while ensuring the protection of bluefin tuna welfare by releasing bluefin tuna unharmed once tagged. Participating vessels are operating within the English and Bristol Channels.
CHART vessels must offer any bluefin tuna that die during the capture process to the MMO, for scientific research. For more information see the Cefas (CHART) website.
Recreational sea anglers
Recreational sea anglers not involved in CHART are not authorised to target or land bluefin tuna. Any incidental catch must not be brought onto the vessel it must be released alive, unharmed to the greatest extent possible. Recreational sea anglers must not land bluefin tuna.
For guidance on how to safely return bluefin tuna to the sea, visit the Thunnus website.
Commercial vessels
No commercial UK vessels are authorised to target this stock. The bluefin tuna should be released alive and unharmed to the greatest extent possible, logbook vessels must record the discard.
For the protection and conservation of bluefin tuna there is a minimum conservation reference size (MCRS). For bluefin tuna caught in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean the MCRS is 30kg or 115cm (fork length).
If the bluefin tuna cannot be returned to the sea alive UK vessels must:
- record all bluefin tuna by-catch
- report and land all dead bluefin tuna above MCRS
- discard all dead bluefin tuna below MCRS, vessels must record all discards
For English administered commercial vessels
For 2021, a new licence condition allows certain English vessels to sell commercially by-caught bluefin tuna which is above the MCRS.
The MMO issued the licence condition variation on Thursday 5 August 2021. The licence condition may change according to quota usage.
Selling bluefin tuna is only allowed under certain provisions. This is to prevent direct targeting. These provisions are:
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A limit of one by-caught bluefin tuna able to be sold per trip by vessels.
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Only vessels with gear types with a risk of unavoidable by-catch can sell this bluefin tuna. The permissible gear types under these requirements are:
- demersal trawls
- pelagic trawls
- seines nets
- ring nets
- fixed nets
These measures ensure the continuation of a precautionary management of this stock.
English vessels must continue to report and land all dead bluefin tuna by-catch above the MCRS which cannot be offered for sale. The MMO may offer this bluefin tuna for scientific research, as part of the Thunnus UK project, the MMO will approve this once reported. Where this isnt possible at the time of landing you will be required to destroy the bluefin tuna by-catch.