Feds Seek Input on Tuna Shark Tournament Reporting Rules
Published Date: 12/19/2025
Notice
Summary
NOAA is updating the rules for registering and reporting fishing tournaments that target big ocean fish like swordfish, sharks, and tuna. Tournament organizers must keep submitting info about their events, helping NOAA manage these fish better. Comments on these updates are open until February 17, 2026, with no new fees involved.
Analyzed Economic Effects
5 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 3 costs, 0 mixed.
Tournaments must register and report
If you operate a fishing tournament that targets highly migratory species (swordfish, sharks, tunas, billfish), you must register the event four weeks in advance and submit a tournament summary report within seven days after tournament fishing ends. This obligation is mandatory under the Magnuson-Stevens Act and the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act.
Proposed new reporting questions under review
NOAA is considering changes to the tournament registration and reporting forms, including updating the target species list, reporting Bluefin tuna catch by size class, clarifying which species require individual lengths and weights, and adding questions about depredation of catch by sharks or other animals. These are proposed modifications being considered as part of the information collection revision.
Estimated time and money burden for operators
NOAA estimates 300 respondents, with tournament registration taking about 2 minutes and the tournament summary report taking about 20 minutes. The estimated total annual burden is 110 hours and the total annual cost to the public for recordkeeping/reporting is $34.80.
Multiple ways to submit forms
You can submit tournament registration and reports online, by email with electronic forms, or by mailing paper forms. NOAA lists these three methods as acceptable ways to file the required information.
Registration allows outreach material requests
Tournament registration provides a method for operators to request educational and regulatory outreach materials from NOAA. That outreach request option is part of the registration process described in the notice.
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