Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (PEI) – June 18, 2026 - Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), is announcing the PEI Bluefin Tuna Fishery Conservation and Harvest Plan (CHP) for the 2026 fishing season.
The opening date for the Bluefin tuna season in Gulf home waters (4RST and 4WD) and in Ex-sector waters is July 1, 2026. The fishery will remain open until December 31, 2026, or until the quota is harvested, whichever comes first.
2026 Management Measures
- Licence holders who have completed a hail out prior to 23:59 hrs on September 22, 2026, but have not landed a tuna, may retain their original tag. If a second tag was issued, it must be returned. These licence holders will not be eligible for a reallocation tag.
- Licence holders who have not completed a hail out prior to 23:59 hrs on September 22, 2026, must return all unused tags and will not be eligible to continue fishing for the remainder of the season.
- Additional tags may be issued if additional quota becomes available.
- Fishers are not authorized to retain blue shark as bycatch while participating in the bluefin tuna fishery.
- Licence holders will only be authorized one vessel transfer during the 2026 season. A vessel may be transferred to another licence holder and subsequently transferred back to the original licence holder.
- The PEI bluefin tuna fleet will have access to a portion of the quota transferred from Mexico to Canada. The Mexican and Canadian quotas will be combined for the 2026 season.
- The Prince Edward Island Fishermen’s Association (PEIFA) will charge a registration fee of $250.00 for all members holding a tuna licence to cover the cost of the Mexican quota transfer.
- Possession of a bluefin tuna tag authorizes participation in the fishery but does not guarantee access to quota. The fishery will close once the available quota has been harvested.
- Each tuna tag will include a temporary dart tag that is recorded in Annex II and associated with that tag. Dart tags are non-transferable.
- Licence holders will be required to print licence conditions for 4RST and 4WD separately.
- Licence holders/operators are permitted to release any bluefin tuna tagged with a scientific tag. Please refer to your licence conditions for details on this authorization.
Pooling Groups
- A maximum of three tuna licence holders will be permitted to form a pooling group to fish from the same vessel. Only the primary licence holder is required to be onboard during a bluefin tuna fishing trip.
- For pooling groups with two licence holders, fishers must land two tuna by 23:59 hrs on September 22, 2026, to be eligible for a reallocation tag.
- For pooling groups with three licence holders, fishers must land three tuna by 23:59 hrs on September 22, 2026, to be eligible for a reallocation tag.
- Pooling groups will remain in effect for the duration of the season unless DFO is notified otherwise. Pooling groups will not be authorized for vessel transfers.
- The deadline to apply to participate in a pooling group is June 30, 2026.
Mackerel Bait
Licence holders are permitted to catch and retain 20 live mackerel per fishing trip for bait purposes. This will be reflected in the conditions of licence.
Logbook
Licence holders are required to submit a copy of the Atlantic bluefin tuna logbook to the dockside monitoring company that was hailed in, within seven (7) days following the end of the fishing trip when no tuna has been caught, or immediately at the end of each fishing trip when a tuna is on board. A reminder for licence holders to use the new version of the tuna logbook as previous versions are no longer valid.
Hail Out
To hail out, licence holders must call 1-833-699-2013 (toll free) or 1-506-431-3223 (satellite phone only) at least one (1) hour prior to departure for any fishing trip.
2026 Tag Availability
Beginning on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, Bluefin tuna tags will be available at the DFO PEI Area Office (165 John Yeo Drive, Charlottetown, PEI) from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Licence holders are eligible to pick up their initial two tags at the same time. The price per tag is $184.77.
Each bluefin tuna tag will include one temporary dart tag, depending on availability. Temporary dart tags will be free of charge, compliments of the PEIFA.