Angling Trust’s position on the 2025 Recreational Catch and Release Bluefin Tuna Fishery

Update: (24 April – PM) the MMO have now paused applications.  We will let you know when they are reopened.

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) published the criteria for application for a permit to take part in the 2025 recreational bluefin tuna fishery on the UK Government website on Thursday 17th April 2025.  Applications are open to 18th May.  The MMO will then assess the application via a tiering system. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), alongside the Marine Management Organisation as the regulator, are responsible for the tiering system. More details can be found on the UK Government website. We strongly advise that all applicants read it carefully and fully before taking any action. Permits are not issued on a first-come, first-served basis. All applicants must take due time and care to complete their application. Applications submitted without all the required information will be rejected once the application window closes and will not be considered by the MMO. 

Training 

The Angling Trust view is that maintaining experience within fishery and upskilling new entrants is important for angler safety and fish welfare.   

We are aware that a number of training courses are currently being offered for 2025.  Be aware this will NOT improve your chances of getting a permit to fish in 2025. If this is the basis training is being offered to you, be cautious. 

Part of the assessment the MMO will be making is whether an applicant has previously taken part in one of two training programmes; CHART training, or the government Fisheries and Seafood Scheme (FaSS) funded training offered in 2024 (devised by the UK Bluefin Tuna Association (UKBFTA), the Angling Trust (AT), and the Professional Boatman’s Association (PBA)) with the support of and in collaboration with Defra, the MMO, Cefas and Natural England. It is important to be clear.  Any other training programmes offered in advance of a permit application will NOT be considered by the MMO as part of the 2025 application process. 

Following guidance from the UK Government on the requirements and accreditation needed for future training programs, we will provide further information on future training opportunities for both interested trainers and trainees.  

We believe the MMO should temporarily pause applicants to provide clearer guidance on the criteria and eligibility to avoid any further confusion. 

Our Position 

While the Angling Trust, UKBFTA, and the PBA have continued to engage with the MMO and Defra around the 2025 season, and the need to sustainably expand the fishery to offer this exciting fishing opportunity to more anglers, charter boat skippers and privateers, it is the MMO and Defra who have decided the management model for this fishery   Whilst we are recognised representative bodies for recreational angling, the Angling Trust, UKBFTA, and the PBA are NOT responsible for these decisions – that is the responsibility of the UK Government exclusively. We continue to advocate for a recreational bluefin tuna fishery that is world class, high welfare, and maximises its economic value to coastal communities and our sector. 

The key areas of concern that we have raised and continue to make to both the MMO and Defra include: 

• Improving accessibility for applicants and sustainably expanding the fishery whilst promoting best-practice fish care and handling. 

• Adopting multi-year permits to provide assurance and financial security to recreational businesses. 

• Streamlining the approach to training, and the need for training or a clear demonstration of skills and experience to be mandatory. 

• Strengthening enforcement by the MMO and the IFCAs and a zero-tolerance policy to illegal fishing. 

• Communicating the importance of effective data collection to improve the fishery for both anglers and the fish. 

• Publishing data in a transparent and timely manner.  

The Angling Trust will be writing to the Minister responsible this week to set out our key concerns. 

2026 and Beyond: A future vision for this fishery 

Anglers in England have experienced a unique opportunity to be part of something extraordinary – the creation of a world-class bluefin tuna catch-and-release fishery that puts science, sustainability, and angling at its heart. Recreational anglers and skippers have been at the forefront of its development to ensure that this fishery delivers for angling, our seas and our coastal communities. 

But the UK Government need to do more to ensure this opportunity is accessible to more recreational anglers in a fair and equitable way, and is sustainably expanded, setting and maintaining the highest standards of fish welfare and angler safety. This is only the second year this fishery has been open.  It is early days, and it is clear both the MMO and Defra have a lot to do to stabilise the management and operation of this fishery and rebuild the trust needed for us all to have confidence it will be a secure, well managed fishery. 

Looking ahead to 2026 and beyond, the Angling Trust is setting out a vision for the recreational bluefin tuna fishery that we will be using to hold the UK Government to account. Recreational anglers and skippers who want to share their views to shape the vision are welcome to send them to us at sea@anglingtrust.net. We will also seek to establish an Angling Trust Bluefin Tuna Advisory Group as part of this process.