Building a sustainable UK bluefin tuna fishery

The MSC has published a report from the well attended MSC and UK Bluefin tuna Knowledge Exchange event on 13th November 2025, which was kindly supported by The Fishmongers’ Company Fisheries Charitable Trust and facilitated by the MSC.

The full report can be read here.

Fishing for Bluefin tuna in Spain, with the JC Mackintosh MSC Certified fishery. Credit: Jonathan Serrano

Context

As the Eastern Atlantic Bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) stock, from which the bluefin seen off the UK coast are part of, grows from strength to strength, the UK is a contracting part of the Regional Fisheries Management Organisation ICCAT (The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas) and can use its’ allocated quota for commercial, recreational and bycatch purposes.

After a series of pilot studies ran by the MMO in 2023 and 2024, the fishery transitioned into a routine commercial fishery in 2025. Acting on this opportunity, the MSC facilitated a Knowledge Exchange between key stakeholders to share their experiences and expectations for a sustainable fishery. Bluefin tuna fishers who have held or hold a commercial license, the MMO, Defra, IPNLF, the MSC and The Fishmongers’ Company all attended the event.

The event was further enriched with the reflections from MSC certified bluefin tuna fishery (JC Mackintosh) on their journey towards certification, thus demonstrating the feasibility and value of a certified bluefin fishery of a similar size and gear type.

Crucially, attendees all contributed to the afternoon workshop, whereby they could discuss the opportunity of MSC certification for the UK fishery, and identify next steps and/ or recommendations for stakeholders.

Key recommendations and next steps

• For stakeholders to establish strong coordinated action to help progress mutual ambitions, amplify the fishers’ voice and improve access to resources.

• For an MSC pre-assessment to be conducted on the fishery. This would clearly identify the strengths and data gaps of the fishery, and guide a targeted action plan to fill the gaps.

• To consider the MSC Improvement Program if the MSC pre-assessment indicates that substantial work is required in order to enter full MSC assessment.