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Atlantic bluefin tuna:professional buying guide, ICCAT quotas, season, line or seine, eBCD

Bluefin tuna for the trade: ICCAT quotas, season from July to October, fish auctions, line, pole or seine, eBCD catch document, freshness and pitfalls.

Updated 7 min readLiveCriée editorial team

Contents
  1. Buying sheet
  2. Why does so little bluefin tuna go through the fish auctions?
  3. Line, pole, trawl or seine: what is the difference?
  4. The eBCD: traceability specific to bluefin tuna
  5. How to judge the freshness of a bluefin tuna?
  6. What pitfalls to avoid?
  7. What to replace bluefin tuna with?
  8. What makes the price of bluefin tuna move?
  9. Frequently asked questions

The Atlantic bluefin tuna (thon rouge in French, Thunnus thynnus) is the largest of the tunas, caught under quotas set every year by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT, or CICTA in French); in France, tuna caught by purse seine in the Mediterranean leaves alive for fattening cages, and only a small part of the quota, caught by line, pole or pelagic trawl, goes through the fish auctions, mainly from July to October. Each fish is tracked by an electronic catch document, the eBCD, from catch to sale.

Buying sheet

Bluefin tuna
Scientific nameThunnus thynnus
Peak season at auctionJuly to October, with the bulk of sales from July to September (nearly two thirds in 2024); small landings from March to June
ManagementICCAT management plan for the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean, taken over by Regulation (EU) 2023/2053: total allowable catch, quotas by country then by vessel, designated landing ports. French quota for 2026: more than 7,800 t (Regulation (EU) 2026/249)
Regulatory seasonsPurse seine: from 19 May to 1 July since 2026 (from 26 May to 1 July before). Other gears: seasons set by each State in its annual fishing plan
Minimum size30 kg or 115 cm fork length; 8 kg or 75 cm by derogation for baitboats and trolling vessels in the eastern Atlantic and for Mediterranean small-scale coastal fishing for the fresh market
Main French fish auctions (2024)650 t sold at auction. Saint-Jean-de-Luz 29%, Les Sables-d'Olonne 18%, La Turballe 10%, Agde 8%, Le Guilvinec 6%, Le Grau-du-Roi 6%
OriginsBay of Biscay (FAO area 27) and Mediterranean (FAO area 37). Fattened tuna, raised for a few months in cages, is sold mainly for export, outside the fish auctions
Fishing methodsPurse seine (Mediterranean), pole and line, trolling line, longline, pelagic trawl
YieldAbout 58% edible flesh (FAO, value given for tunas in general), to be measured on your own deliveries; fish sold whole at auction, then as loins, quarters and belly (ventrèche)
StorageBled on board, chilled to the core, 0 to 2 °C without a break in the cold chain: a histamine risk species

National rhythm of auction sales (FranceAgriMer, 2024); it varies from one port to another. Shares calculated by the editorial team from the sales declared at French fish auctions in 2024 (FranceAgriMer). Seasons and sizes: Regulation (EU) 2023/2053, Articles 17 and 19, amended by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/497.

Why does so little bluefin tuna go through the fish auctions?

In 2024, the French bluefin tuna quota was 6,694 tonnes (Regulation (EU) 2024/257). French fish auctions sold only 650 tonnes of it: less than a tenth. Mediterranean purse seiners fish in a few weeks, between mid-May and early July; their tuna is transferred alive into towed cages to fattening sites, outside the fish auctions. Sète, home port of purse seiners, sold only 4 tonnes of bluefin tuna in its auction hall in 2024.

  • 6,694 tof French quota in 2024
  • 650 tsold at auction in 2024
  • 8,067 tof French quota in 2026, after carry-overs

Source: Regulations (EU) 2024/257 and 2026/1547; FranceAgriMer, sales declared at fish auctions in 2024.

Fresh bluefin tuna therefore comes mainly from the Atlantic: more than 80% of auction sales take place on this coast, led by Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Les Sables-d'Olonne. The Mediterranean auctions (Agde, Le Grau-du-Roi, Port-la-Nouvelle, Sète) sell less than a fifth of it.

Line, pole, trawl or seine: what is the difference?

  • Line and pole: fish caught one by one, bled and iced straight away. Baitboats and trolling vessels can land tuna from 8 kg, thanks to the size derogation.
  • Pelagic trawl: catches in volume in the Bay of Biscay; check the condition of the flesh.
  • Seine: fish caught alive for fattening, rarely sold fresh.

The eBCD: traceability specific to bluefin tuna

In addition to the label (catch area, gear), every bluefin tuna caught is recorded in the ICCAT eBCD system (electronic catch document), mandatory since 1 May 2016. It follows the batch from landing through every sale or export. Tuna caught by pole, longline, handline or trolling line also carry a tracking tag on the tail, fitted at landing, whose number appears on the catch document. In the Union, trade in a bluefin tuna without accurate and validated catch documents is prohibited (Regulation (EU) 2023/2053, Article 62 and Annex I).

How to judge the freshness of a bluefin tuna?

  • Midnight-blue skin on the back, silvery belly, taut skin.
  • When cut, deep red, shiny, firm flesh, with no pale or soft area.

What pitfalls to avoid?

  • Other tunas. Yellowfin tuna (albacore or thon jaune in French), bigeye tuna and skipjack are other species, often tropical and frozen.
  • A colour that is too good. A bright, uniform red flesh that never browns should raise an alarm: treatments that revive the colour are prohibited in the European Union.
  • Histamine and raw serving. Poorly chilled, tuna produces histamine, which cooking does not destroy. Served raw, it falls under the health rule on freezing fishery products, unless a derogation applies: ask your supplier.
  • Thawed fish. The mention "defrosted" (décongelé) is mandatory if the tuna has been frozen.

What to replace bluefin tuna with?

UseSubstituteNote
Tataki, searedAlbacore (germon)three times cheaper at auction, in season at the same time
Raw, tartareLine-caught mackerel, Atlantic bonitoafter sanitary freezing
Pan-fried loinSwordfish, meagrefirm flesh, different taste

What makes the price of bluefin tuna move?

Average first-sale price at auction, France, 2024Bluefin tuna
Yearly averageabout €10.50/kg
Cheapest monthOctober: about €8.40/kg
Most expensive monthMay: about €12.90/kg
Spread between auctionsfrom €8.20/kg (La Turballe) to €13.60/kg (Le Grau-du-Roi)

Year 2024, all French fish auctions: average first-sale price at the auction hall, whole fish (FranceAgriMer, sales declared at fish auctions, workbook published on 2 July 2026). No sales declared in January and February 2024. Spread between auctions: among those handling at least 5% of bluefin tuna volumes. The auction price is not the price paid to the fish merchant: processing, transport and margin are added to it.

In spring 2024, on small landings (15 to 27 t a month from March to May), bluefin tuna sold at between €11.70 and €12.90/kg; at the height of the campaign, from July to October, the price fell to about €8.40/kg in October. The link with volumes is less clear than for other species: August, with 115 t, was more expensive (about €12.70/kg) than July (164 t, about €10.40/kg), and the workbook does not say whether this comes from the weight of the fish, the gear or the coast. 2025 confirms October as the cheapest month. The spread between auctions is wide: more than €5/kg between La Turballe and the Mediterranean auctions (Agde, Le Grau-du-Roi), which sell little but at a high price.

  • The quota: each vessel fishes within the limit of its individual quota; once it is used up, it can no longer sell bluefin tuna.
  • The season: lowest price at the end of the campaign, in October; higher on the small winter and spring landings.
  • The gear: line and pole above trawl.
  • The coast: in 2024, bluefin tuna sold at a higher price in the Mediterranean auctions than at Saint-Jean-de-Luz or La Turballe.

Frequently asked questions

When is bluefin tuna in season?

At auction, from July to October; the bulk of landings falls from July to September, and October remains a strong month. Mediterranean purse seiners fish between 19 May and 1 July, but their tuna leaves alive for fattening cages and does not go through the fish auctions.

Is bluefin tuna still endangered?

The eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean stock was long covered by a recovery plan. In 2018, ICCAT replaced it with a multiannual management plan, its scientific committee considering that the state of the stock no longer required emergency measures (Regulation (EU) 2023/2053, recital 4). It is still caught under strict quotas, checked vessel by vessel and fish by fish.

What is the auction price of bluefin tuna in France?

In 2024, about €10.50/kg on average at first sale in French fish auctions, from about €8.40/kg in October to about €12.90/kg in May (FranceAgriMer). This is the price of the whole fish, highly variable from one auction to another; the price paid to the fish merchant adds processing, transport and margin, and a loin or a belly cannot be compared with the whole-fish price per kilo.

What is the eBCD?

The electronic catch document for bluefin tuna, managed by ICCAT. It follows each catch through to sale; ask your supplier for its number.

Where to buy fresh bluefin tuna in France?

From a fish merchant who buys at auction, mainly at Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Les Sables-d'Olonne, La Turballe and Agde, from July to October.

Sources

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