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Atlantic Highly Migratory Species News
The National Marine Fisheries Service is taking two actions regarding
the recreational Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) Angling category fishery:

(1) closure of the southern area trophy BFT fishery (73" or greater)
for the remainder of 2012, and

(2) adjustment of the daily retention limit that applies to the HMS
Charter/Headboat category (when fishing recreationally) to: 1 school
BFT (27 to <47”) and 1 large school/small medium BFT (47 to <73”) per
vessel. The recreational daily retention limit that applies to HMS
Angling category vessels remains at the default level of 1 school,
large school, or small medium BFT (27 to <73”) per vessel.

This action will be effective on April 7, 2012.

For more information, please see the attached notice or go to the HMS
Division website at:
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/ hms/breaking_news.htm

Charter/Headboat category (when fishing recreationally) to: 1 school
BFT (27 to <47”) and 1 large school/small medium BFT (47 to <73”) per

I am having a hard time finding this in writing anywhere. With the Charter/Headboat you also need the DEC permits which are an additional $500.00 fo0r the DEC Charter Permit.

You cannot get around the bag limit unless you have both State & Federal compliance. Also once you fish recreational you bag limit changes to jus t that. One fish.

I wish this was true taking two fish makes the trip worth while.

ATLANTIC HMS CHARTER/HEADBOAT BANDIT GEAR HANDLINE ROD AND REEL
I fully understand the consequences of my choice of vessel permit category. I have also read and understand the 10-day category change restriction.

Owners/operators of charter/headboat vessels fishing for and/or retaining regulated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (Atlantic tunas, sharks, swordfish and billfish) in the Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, must obtain an Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Charter/Headboat permit. To be eligible for this permit category there MUST be a licensed Coast Guard Captain onboard the vessel during all HMS Fishing activities regardless if they are commercial, recreational, or fee based in nature. This permit allows a vessel to fish both commercially for tunas and recreationally for HMS, although not on the same day. Only the sale of tuna catch is permitted with this permit. This permit is required if fishing in Federal or State waters and because it is a commercial permit the U.S. Coast Guard Safety Gear Regulations may apply. This permit will also allow a vessel to fish in registered recreational HMS fishing tournaments.

It seems clear to me that even with this permit your are limited to recreational quote. If you are charter on the trip you must have a Captain plus even though not stated you need the DEC Charter Permit.

2012 Recreational Atlantic Tunas Retention Limits
Effective April 7, 2012, the daily retention limit that applies to Charter/Headboat vessels (when fishing recreationally) will be one school BFT (measuring 27 to less than 47 inches) AND one large school/small medium BFT (measuring 47 to less than 73 inches) per vessel per day/trip. For Angling category (private) vessels, the limit is maintained at the default level of one school, large school, or small medium BFT per vessel per day/trip, (i.e., one fish measuring 27 to less than 73 inches). In addition to the daily retention limit, vessels are also allowed one ‘trophy’ BFT, measuring 73" or greater/vessel/year. These BFT retention limits are effective for all areas, except for the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf of Mexico is designated as a spawning ground for BFT and therefore NMFS does not allow recreational caught BFT to be retained while fishing in this area. The recreational yellowfin tuna daily retention limit is 3 yellowfin/person/day/trip. The minimum size for yellowfin and bigeye tuna is 27" curved fork length. There are no recreational limits for bigeye, skipjack or albacore tunas.

It apears that you can, however you MUST have a US Coast Guard Lic Captain on board. Plus although not stated by NMFS you must also be in DEC compliance once in state waters. The bottom line is that you need to be all in for peace of mind. I would hate to be the test case on this one. Still not 100% in my opinion.

Larry,

You are mostly right: from New York State DEC, you need the $250 commercial food fish license + $250 party/headboat permit, and if you want to sell your BFT, you also need a $500 commercial landing license.
On the Federal side, you need an HMS party/charter permit, and if you choose that category which allows the BFT, you will need to obtain NMFS Northeast Regional vessel permit with a multi-species endorsement - otherwise you can't fish federal waters for Bluefish, Fluke, Mackeral. Porgy, Sea Bass, Spiny Dogfish, Squid or Tilefish.
You will need a licensed captain, and the 12 hour in 24 hour duty rule applies, so you will need two licensed captains for any trip over 12 hours, plus all of your safety gear must meet the commercial vessel requirements. You should also check with your insurer to see if you have coverage for commercial trips?

One other thing, if you obtain a NMFS-NER Mutli-Species permit, you need to report all of your reportable catches (multi-species) on a VTR (vessel trip report) form by Tuesday of each week (for the prior Sunday to Saturday period) to the NMFS-NER office in Gloucester, MA. Whether you fish or not, the VTR form is due at least 1x month.

Got it, I think the big question is can you get around the one fish recreational bluefin bag limit by simply just getting the Charter Head boat that allows two fish - one under one over.
I think not, even though they state that you can recreational fish with the charter head boat and take two fish. That is only the first part of the journey. Once those fish are in state waters you need to also comply with the charter head boat rule. I could be wrong & I hope I am.

I conferred with my professional contacts in the DEC today to get to the bottom of this issue.

Here is the deal:

All DEC Police are deputized NMFS officers so they can in fact enforce federal law in NYS waters.

If you have a Charter/Headboat NMFS permit and you are fishing with that permit once you are in NYS waters you MUST HAVE a DEC Charter/Headboat Permit. Regardless of whether you are fishing recreational or Charter.

The DEC was well aware of the recent NMFS change dated April 7, 2012 and the L.I. units will be well prepared to enforce the requirements.

You cannot by- pass the recreational quota of one (1) Bluefin per trip with you NMFS Charter Headboat permit only you need full complice.

Forearmed is for warned and sad stories of not knowing the rules will not get you off the hook.