Gibraltar opens 2026 bluefin tuna season with 30-tonne quota

Gibraltar’s bluefin season will open on a short leash, with every trip tied to a Class K licence, a strict landing-point check-in, and the real possibility of an early closure if the catch comes on fast. The 2026 fishery in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters starts on Tuesday, June 16, and the first thing anglers need to understand is that this is not an open-ended run at bluefin. It is a quota-managed window with hard limits on when you can fish, what you can land, and where the fish must be weighed.

The total allowable catch for Gibraltar this year is 30 tonnes, up from 26 tonnes in 2025 and 25 tonnes in both 2024 and 2023. That local increase tracks ICCAT’s latest bluefin decision, which lifted the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean TAC for 2026 to 2028 to 48,403 tonnes, a 19.3% rise. Gibraltar has split its allowance into two blocks: 27 tonnes from June 16 through July 25, unless that limit is reached sooner, then a second 3-tonne window from August 6 through October 14. If the fishery fills the first block early, access tightens immediately.

For recreational crews, the paperwork and reporting side matters as much as the rod rack. A Class K licence is required to fish for bluefin in Gibraltar waters, and every tuna and billfish catch must be reported and weighed at the landing point at North Mole, No. 1 Jetty. The landing station will be staffed from 09:00 to 14:30 Monday to Saturday, and catches landed later in the day must be reported through the on-call staff phone number. Vessels must contact staff as soon as a bluefin is landed so officials can track activity in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters.

The other rules leave little room for sloppy deck work. Only one fish per day per licence holder and vessel is allowed, and the minimum legal bluefin size is 30 kg and 130 cm fork length. Towing live specimens into the landing station is prohibited, and popping for tuna is banned inside the Dolphin Protection Zone north of Rosia Bay. Boats must also keep at least 60 metres from any dolphin or whale while navigating in BGTW. Gibraltar’s Tuna Preservation Regulations were first published in 2014, and the framework still reads the same way it did then: if the quota starts moving, the gate can shut quickly.