Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; North Atlantic Swordfish, South Atlantic Swordfish, North Atlantic Albacore, and Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Quotas

What it does

NMFS is proposing to implement recent binding recommendations of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) on quotas for North Atlantic swordfish, South Atlantic swordfish, North Atlantic albacore tuna (northern albacore), and Atlantic bluefin tuna. While this action does not propose to change the existing baseline quotas for North Atlantic swordfish, South Atlantic swordfish, and northern albacore, this action proposes to implement the management procedure for North Atlantic swordfish, describes the existing management procedure for northern albacore, and considers the possibility of future quota changes for swordfish and northern albacore consistent with their respective management procedures and ICCAT recommendations. For bluefin tuna, this action also proposes to implement the increased U.S. baseline quota adopted by ICCAT in 2025, divide it among the established regulatory domestic subquota categories, and implement changes to the bluefin tuna quota associated with longline bycatch adopted by ICCAT in 2025. This proposed rule also describes the annual quota adjustment procedures for North Atlantic swordfish, South Atlantic swordfish, northern albacore, and bluefin tuna and requests public comment on them. This action is required by the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA) and to achieve domestic management objectives under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's summary, as published in the Federal Register.

What it would change

1 part of Title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations:

50 CFR 635

Before this

No earlier Federal Register document under regulation identifier 0648-BN60 since Jan. 1, 2025.

Since then:

• Aug. 19, 2026 Final rule; temporary quota adjustment; temporary quota transfer. Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; North Atlantic Swordfish, South Atlantic Swordfish, North Atlantic Albacore, and Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Quotas

What happens next and when

Written comments must be received by June 8, 2026. NMFS will hold a public hearing webinar for this proposed rule on May 28, 2026, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. EDT. For webinar registration information, see the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

The agency's dates, word for word.

Check it yourself

• The document in the Federal Register
• Docket NOAA-NMFS-2025-0053 on Regulations.gov
• Title 50 on eCFR

The record as published

Source: the Federal Register (public domain). The document in the Federal Register