Ireland does not have a national quota for Bluefin Tuna. The available bluefin tuna quota is allocated each year to Member States on the basis of relative stability as established in the late 1990's. At the time, Ireland did not have a track record of commercial fishing for Bluefin Tuna and, accordingly, did not receive a quota allocation. The only way to obtain a share of the EU quota now would involve reducing the shares of those EU Member States that do have quota and for whom Bluefin Tuna is an important commercial fishery.
A small Bluefin Tuna by-catch quota is available to Ireland, primarily for use in our important Northern Albacore Tuna fishery and Celtic Sea Herring fishery where there can be Bluefin Tuna by-catch. This by-catch quota is also available to other Member States in the European Union.
While obtaining a viable commercial quota for Bluefin Tuna is unlikely in the short to medium term, during 2018 negotiations on the new management plan for Bluefin Tuna in the East Atlantic, Ireland was successful in introducing a clause allowing countries without a commercial quota to set up a catch-tag-release fishery to contribute to the collection of scientific data. A Catch-Tag-Release science-based fishery for authorised recreational angling vessels has been in place in Ireland since 2019.
The project, which was developed by Inland Fisheries Ireland and the Marine Institute in partnership with the SFPA, the Department for Communications, Climate Action and Environment and my Department, will allow the Marine Institute and Inland Fisheries Ireland to collect valuable data on the migratory patterns of Bluefin Tuna in Irish waters in a tightly controlled environment.
