Establishing permitting regimes for the recreational fishing of Eastern Atlantic bluefin tuna in UK waters

Defra is developing legislation to establish new catch and release recreational fisheries (CRRFs) for Eastern Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) across the UK, with a view to opening a CRRF for BFT, in English waters, in 2024.

We’re seeking views on the:

• key principles for the design of permitting regimes
• likely levels of interest in future CRRFs for BFT
• anticipated social and economic benefits of the fisheries

We’d like to know how these design principles should be applied operationally to the BFT catch and release recreational fishery in England.