Tunisia has set the annual bluefin tuna fishing season from May 26 to July 1, 2025, with the possibility of a 10-day extension if necessary. The country has also organized the sector through the creation of a commission in charge of ruling on individual bluefin tuna quota applications.
The new provisions relating to bluefin tuna fishing were published in Official Gazette No. 42 of 2025, pursuant to the decree of the Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries concerning the regulation of bluefin tuna fishing and fattening.
The ministerial decision includes definitions of terminology related to fishing units, the fishing season, the national bluefin tuna quota, joint fishing operations, and fattening.
The decree defines the individual annual quota for bluefin tuna fishing as “the maximum annual quantity of bluefin tuna, estimated in tons, that each fishing unit is authorized to catch during the bluefin tuna fishing season.”
Tunisia has also imposed restrictions on the capture of bluefin tuna weighing less than 20 kg or measuring less than 115 centimeters (measured from the top of the head to the fork of the tail), in line with the recommendations of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).
Bluefin tuna fishing groups are divided into:
- A fixed core group of 61 fishing units, which obtained fishing authorizations and individual quotas for bluefin tuna during 2008, 2018, 2019, and 2020;
- And a variable complementary group, consisting of a changing number of marine fishing units authorized to catch small pelagic fish using light or non-light trawls.
The commission will also determine the value of one kilogram of bluefin tuna, calculated based on the annual individual quota, and review specific requests submitted by the variable complementary group.
Source: La presse
