Ireland closes northern albacore tuna pair-pelagic fishery

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has closed the northern albacore tuna fishery for Irish sea-fishing boats authorised to fish with “Pair – Pelagic” gear, with effect from 15:30 hours on 18 August 2026. The measure is set out in Fisheries Management Notice No. 50 of 2026 (the 2026 Northern Albacore Tuna Quota Management Notice), published in Iris Oifigiúil No. 67 of Friday, 21 August 2026.

The Notice is issued under section 12 of the Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006 (No. 8 of 2006) and was given under the Official Seal of the Minister on 17 August 2026 at 15:30 hours. It applies to the “specified area”, defined as the Atlantic Ocean north of 5° N, and targets Thunnus alalunga, the scientific name for northern albacore tuna.

What the closure prohibits

From 15:30 hours on 18 August 2026, the master of an Irish sea-fishing boat authorised under section 13 of the 2006 Act to use “Pair – Pelagic” gear in section 5 of the authorisation may not engage in, or cause or permit any person on board to engage in, fishing activity for northern albacore tuna in the specified area.

• The prohibition covers fishing activity only, not the mere presence of the vessel in the area.
• It applies exclusively to vessels whose authorisation permits “Pair – Pelagic” gear.
• The Notice remains in force until 31 December 2026.

Landing grace period

A derogation allows affected vessels to retain northern albacore tuna on board and land it before 15:30 hours on 20 August 2026. This gives boats that had already caught fish a short window to bring their catch ashore after the closure takes effect.

Fishery remains open for other vessels

The closure does not affect the wider northern albacore tuna fishery. The Notice expressly states that the fishery remains open for vessels authorised to fish for northern albacore tuna where the authorisation does not permit fishing by means of “Pair – Pelagic” gear. Only the pair-pelagic segment of the fleet is subject to the ban.

The measure is a quota-management step aimed at keeping Irish landings of northern albacore tuna within the national allocation for 2026. For the affected pair-pelagic fleet, the closure means an early end to the season in the Atlantic north of 5° N, while other authorised vessels may continue fishing under their existing authorisations.

Source: Iris Oifigiúil, No. 67, 21 August 2026, notices (official reference: Fisheries Management Notice No. 50 of 2026).