Closure year: 2025

Resolution C-24-01 on Tuna Conservation establishes that:

1. Each purse-seine vessel equal or larger than class 4 (182 metric tons (mt) of carrying capacity) shall cease fishing in the IATTC Convention Area for a preiod of 72 days in 2025 and 2026 from either (1) 29 July to 8 October 2025; or (2) 9 November 2025 to 19 January 2026.
2. CPCs shall ensure that vessels that exceeded, during the previous year, the annual catch of 1,200 metric tons of bigeye tuna shall increase days of closure,during the following year, as follows:
   • Greater than 1,200 mt and up to 1,500 mt: 10 additional days
   • Greater than 1,500 mt and up to 1,800 mt: 13 additional days
   • Greater than 1,800 mt and up to 2,100 mt: 16 additional days
   • Greater than 2,100 mt and up to 2,400 mt: 19 additional days
   • Greater than 2,400 mt: 22 additional days

The additional days of closure pursuant shall be added, as appropriate:

• To the beginning of the first closure period, or;
• To the end of the second closure period

In this manner, the first period shall always end on October 8 and the second period shall always begin on 9 November of each year.

The CPCs will be responsible for estimating the catch of bigeye tuna of each vessel flying its flag at the end of each trip.

Important due dates:

• February 15: CPCs transmit information to the Secretary of annual catches of bigeye tuna by its vessels.
• March 1: Based on the previous information, the Secretary provide CPCs the names of vessels that must increase the closure period.
• July 15: CPCs notify the IATTC Secretariat of the closures selected for its vessels.

In 2025 and 2026, any vessel that in the previous year had to apply the additional days of closure indicated above, and in that same period had caught less than 1,200 metric tons of bigeye tuna, shall apply only the closure days indicated in paragraph 1 above. 

Since November 2018, the practice of the Commission and its Secretariat concerning the observation of period closures by “new vessels “has been clarified and publicized.  A “new vessel” is a vessel that is included for the first time in the IATTC Regional Vessel Register or is re-included after their previous removal from the Register. If its inclusion occurs during or after the first period of closure, it will be considered as having observed that closure when: 

• It replaces a vessel that has already observed the first period of closure; or
• It is entered in the Register with the necessary allocation of capacity and starts fishing only after the end of the first period of closure. 
• (**) Memorandum ref. 0484-410

A list of the vessels subject to these closures, and of the closure period that each one will observe, is available here.