Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries; Closure of the General Category December Fishery for 2022

NMFS closes the General category fishery for large medium and giant (i.e., measuring 73 inches (185 centimeters) curved fork length or greater) Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) for the December subquota time period, and thus for the remainder of 2022. This action applies to Atlantic Tunas General category (commercial) permitted vessels and highly migratory species (HMS) Charter/Headboat permitted vessels with a commercial sale endorsement when fishing commercially for BFT. 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 January 1, 2023, the fishery will reopen automatically.