Atlantic HMS Permits and Reporting for Recreational Anglers

If you fish for tunas, billfish, swordfish or sharks in Atlantic federal waters, your boat needs a federal HMS permit. A state saltwater license does not cover it. This guide covers which permit you need, how to buy it, what to report and the gear rules that come with it.

HMS stands for highly migratory species. NOAA Fisheries manages the 5 Atlantic tunas (bluefin, bigeye, albacore, yellowfin and skipjack), swordfish, the billfish (blue marlin, white marlin, roundscale spearfish and sailfish) and sharks. For biology and where to find the fish, use our species guides for biology and fishing. This page covers the paperwork.

Three facts hold the rest together:

• The permit belongs to the vessel and covers everyone aboard.
• Federal HMS rules are separate from any state license.
• Federal rules follow you into state waters unless the state rule is stricter.

The rules sit in 50 CFR part 635. By the end, you will know which permit to buy, what to report within 24 hours and what to check before you leave the dock.

Which HMS permit do you need?

Four permits can be used to fish HMS recreationally. Most private boats need the HMS Angling permit. Boats carrying paying passengers need the HMS Charter/Headboat permit.

Swipe the table sideways to see every column.

Shark endorsement

To fish for or keep sharks, the vessel owner adds a shark endorsement to the Angling or Charter/Headboat permit. You get it by passing an online shark identification quiz during purchase.

For charter and headboat captains

• Charter: a vessel under 100 gross tons, Coast Guard-qualified to carry 6 or fewer passengers for hire.
• Headboat: a vessel holding a Coast Guard Certificate of Inspection.
• Licensing: the operator carries a valid Coast Guard license (Merchant Marine or Uninspected Passenger Vessel, as applicable) aboard.
• Selling: selling tunas or swordfish requires a commercial sale endorsement. Selling sharks also requires a commercial shark permit. The Charter/Headboat commercial sale provision sets that rule. Swordfish may not be sold on for-hire trips.
• Reporting: the vessel owner or operator reports. See the reporting section below.

How to buy or renew your HMS permit

You buy or renew online at the HMS Permit Shop, or by phone at (888) 872-8862. The permit renews every year.

1. Gather your paperwork. Have your vessel documentation or state registration and the owner’s details ready.
2. Open the HMS Permit Shop online or call.
3. Choose the permit category.
4. Watch the required video and pass the quiz.
5. Add the shark endorsement quiz if you want to keep sharks.
6. Pay the annual fee at checkout.
7. Keep the permit aboard.
8. Renew each year before you fish again.

The permit is issued to a specific vessel, so a new boat needs its own permit.

Where Atlantic HMS rules apply

"Atlantic Ocean" in the federal rules includes the Gulf (NOAA’s name is Gulf of America) and the Caribbean Sea. The same rules apply in all three.

Permit holders follow federal HMS rules in state waters unless the state rule is stricter. Federal limits cannot be stacked on state limits. A federal tuna permit is required in coastal state waters except Connecticut and Mississippi. The legal text is in federal HMS regulations, 50 CFR.

Check your state’s regulations page for state-waters rules and state licenses. In Massachusetts, for example, the state permit does not replace the HMS permit.

Blackfin tuna is not HMS-managed, so the state sets those rules.

Fishing the West Coast or Hawaii? Pacific HMS runs under different rules.

How to report a landing

Angling and Charter/Headboat permit holders report every bluefin landing and dead discard, and every billfish and swordfish landing, within 24 hours of returning from the trip.

*You must still take part if contacted by the Large Pelagics Survey or MRIP.

Follow these steps:

1. Note the species, count and length before you offload.
2. Choose one method: the HMS Permit Shop catch reports page, the HMS Catch Reporting App, SAFIS eTrips (Mobile or Online), or phone at (888) 872-8862.
3. Submit within 24 hours.
4. Keep your confirmation.

On for-hire trips, the vessel owner or operator reports, not the customer. Fish entered in a registered tournament are reported by the tournament operator. Fish landed but not entered are reported by you. For a tag-and-release bluefin, report the tag information to NMFS.

State reporting programs

In North Carolina, the state catch card and landing tag replace the federal call-in or web report. Affix the tag before the fish leaves the vessel, or before a trailered boat leaves the water. Fish released alive are not reported. The North Carolina catch card program page has the details.

Maryland runs its own state program. Check Maryland’s state regulations before reporting there.

HMS tournament rules

Any event that awards points or prizes for catching and releasing or landing HMS in the Atlantic, Gulf or Caribbean must register with NOAA Fisheries at least 4 weeks before it starts.

• What counts: sailfish, white marlin, blue marlin, longbill spearfish (landing prohibited), roundscale spearfish, swordfish, Atlantic tunas and sharks.
• Registration: online or on the hard copy form. Provide contacts, dates, locations and target species. You receive a confirmation number as proof.
• Eligible permits: HMS Angling, HMS Charter/Headboat, Atlantic Tunas General or Swordfish General Commercial.
• Hooks: in billfish tournaments, natural bait or natural and artificial combinations require non-offset circle hooks. Artificial bait alone may use J-hooks, offset circle hooks or non-offset circle hooks.
• Reporting: the operator reports entered fish.

Tournament checklist:

• Register 4+ weeks out.
• Confirm every boat’s permit.
• Brief anglers on hook rules.
• Report entered fish.

Species rules: sizes, limits and landing form

Size is measured four ways:

• LJFL: lower jaw fork length, a straight line from the tip of the lower jaw to the fork.
• CFL: curved fork length.
• CK: cleithrum to keel, along the body curve.
• PFCFL: pectoral fin curved fork length.

Bluefin status, billfish size adjustments and closures change in season. Check the NOAA HMS landings updates page before you run.

Tunas

The yellowfin limit covers everyone aboard an Angling vessel. On Charter/Headboat for-hire trips, it covers the captain and crew too.

• Headless fish: 27 inches from the forward edge of the cut to the fork.
• Shark-damaged fish: the remainder must still be 27 inches, with no trimming.
• Landing form: land round, or eviscerated and headed with the tail and 1 pectoral fin attached. Tail lobes may be cut if the fork stays intact.
• Gaffs: boatside only, on fish already caught.

Bluefin size classes:

Large school and small medium are managed together. Large medium and giant form the trophy class (73+ in). A headless bluefin must be at least 20 in PFCFL, where CFL = PFCFL × 1.35.

Retention works in layers:

• Default outside the Gulf: 1 fish from 27 to under 73 in per vessel per day.
• Trophy: 1 per vessel per year outside the Gulf. Once it is kept, fishing ends and the boat returns to port.
• Gulf: no targeting. 1 trophy per vessel per year, only if caught incidentally.
• What NOAA can change: limits by class, per-vessel or per-angler basis, and vessel type.
• Closure: the fishery closes when the quota is met.

Check that bluefin is open, and check the day’s limit, before leaving the dock. Use hmspermits.noaa.gov or call (888) 872-8862. A boat with a commercial sale endorsement may fish General category limits when that category is open. The first bluefin kept sets the category for the day. Bluefin cannot be sold under an Angling permit.

For more, see the full size class and landing-form detail. For where and how to fish them, see where and how to fish yellowfin and bluefin.

Billfish and swordfish

The billfish and swordfish federal rules page goes deeper.

There is no bag limit on billfish. Three things limit the take:

• A 250-fish annual national landings limit for blue marlin, white marlin and roundscale spearfish combined. Sailfish are excluded.
• A catch-and-release-only closure when the limit is reached or projected.
• NOAA’s ability to raise minimum sizes in season. Blue marlin can go to between 117 and 138 inches, and white marlin and roundscale spearfish to between 70 and 79 inches.

Longbill spearfish is prohibited. Billfish are rod and reel only. Land them whole with head, fins and bill. No sale.

• Swordfish are open north of 5°N only.
• You may head and gut a swordfish, but not cut it into pieces at sea.
• The bill may be removed to the tip of the lower jaw and the head still counts as attached.
• A shark-bitten fish must still meet the LJFL or CK minimum.

Sharks

Keeping sharks requires the shark endorsement. If a hammerhead is aboard or has been offloaded, no tunas, swordfish or billfish may be kept, and the reverse. For sizes, prohibited species and hook rules, use NOAA’s shark regulations and identification resources.

Hooks, handling and release

• Billfish: release immediately without removing the fish from the water. Cut the line near the hook or use a dehooking device.
• Swordfish and unkept tunas: release in the water.
• Tournament circle hooks: natural bait or natural and artificial combinations require non-offset circle hooks. See the tournament section above.

The billfish fishing guides cover technique.

Pre-trip checklist

• Permit valid and aboard, renewed for the year.
• Shark endorsement added if you plan to keep sharks.
• Bluefin status and day’s limit checked.
• Landings-updates page checked for billfish sizes and closures.
• Measuring tape aboard.
• Reporting app installed.
• State rules checked for your landing state, including the NC catch card if you land in North Carolina.
• No hammerhead kept if you plan to keep tunas, swordfish or billfish.

Plan the run

Once the paperwork is set, we use OBS SST, Chlorophyll and Chart Contours in Breakpoint to choose where to look. You can download Breakpoint from the App Store or Google Play. Chart layers are not for navigation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need an HMS permit if I have a state license?

Yes. A state saltwater license does not cover HMS. NOAA Fisheries requires the federal permit, and federal rules apply in state waters unless the state rule is stricter.

Does the permit cover everyone aboard?

Yes. The permit is issued to the vessel, so it covers all anglers aboard. Limits are per person or per vessel as stated for each species, and NOAA Fisheries sets them.

Do I report sharks?

There is no general reporting requirement for recreationally caught sharks under an Angling or Charter/Headboat permit. You must still respond if the Large Pelagics Survey or MRIP contacts you, as NOAA Fisheries requires.

Can I sell a bluefin?

Not under an Angling permit. A Charter/Headboat permit needs a commercial sale endorsement, and the vessel must fish under General category rules. NOAA Fisheries publishes the open or closed status.

Can I keep bluefin in the Gulf?

You may not target bluefin in the Gulf. You may land 1 trophy per vessel per year only if it is caught incidentally while fishing for other species. Report it within 24 hours.

What if I’m fishing the Pacific?

Pacific HMS rules differ from the Atlantic rules in this guide. See Pacific HMS federal rules for that side of the country.