Hawaii longline striped marlin limit takes effect, with a 381.6-ton retention cap

Hawaii longline boats are now under a striped marlin retention cap that can shut the fish off before New Year’s. A National Marine Fisheries Service final rule effective Oct. 14, 2026, sets the 2026 U.S. catch limit for Western and Central North Pacific striped marlin at 393.4 metric tons, about 867,300 pounds. The retention limit for vessels with a Hawaii longline limited-entry permit is 381.6 metric tons, about 841,300 pounds, which is 97 percent of the catch limit. The area is the Pacific north of the equator and west of 150° W. longitude.

The limit follows Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission measure 2024-06. The international total allowable catch for 2025–2027 is 2,400 metric tons. The U.S. base share is 228.4 metric tons. This year’s U.S. number is higher because 165 metric tons of unused international quota from two years earlier was added. Troll and handline boats take the rest of the U.S. catch and report monthly, so the longline cap is set below the full limit to leave room for them.

If logbooks and landings show the retention limit will be reached, NMFS can ban retention of striped marlin, alive or dead, by those Hawaii longline permits through Dec. 31. That ban cannot start sooner than seven days after a notice in the Federal Register. A 2023 assessment found the stock was experiencing overfishing and was not overfished, an improvement from 2019, when it was both. The rebuilding plan aims for 20 percent of unfished biomass by 2034 with at least a 60 percent probability. NMFS said catches so far in 2026 make it likely the retention limit will be reached before the year ends. The rule is 2026-18849, published Sept. 15.

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: Federal Register — Catch and retention limits for striped marlin in the western and central Pacific (effective Oct. 14, 2026).