Blackfin Tuna Finally Gets the Respect They Deserve

Blackfin tuna are certainly gems of Florida’s Atlantic and Gulf coasts. In the 5 years since bag limits were put into place in Florida waters, 2 per person or 10 per vessel, these small, wide-ranging members of the tuna family seem to have responded by growing larger and more abundant.

In June of 2024, angler Robert Kowalski put a 50-pound, 1-ounce blackfin tuna on the deck of a Miami charterboat, setting a new International Game Fish Association all-tackle record for the species. The previous mark, 49 pounds, 6 ounces, had stood since 2006; that was also a Florida catch, from Marathon in the Florida Keys.

Blackfins aren’t limited to Florida waters, but it’s here where not only records are set, but where the fish are surely at the apex of their popularity among anglers.

Blackfin Tuna A Florida Gem

Plenty of blackfins are caught off Louisiana at the Gulf oil and gas rigs, and the species ranges up the Atlantic coast as far as Massachusetts and as far south as Brazil. But where blackfins overlap with the larger yellowfin and bluefin tunas, they tend to be relegated to bycatch or bait status by sportfishing fleets.

Blackfins are not commercially targeted in high volumes, either, which has been both blessing and curse. Blessing for obvious reasons—blackfins were never longlined or purse-seined to near extinction as bluefins were for the ridiculous sushi market. Curse because up until about 10 or 12 years ago, very little scientific research had been directed at them. Credit goes to researchers with Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida (there’s Florida again!), for establishing vital information about blackfins, including growth rates, reproductive maturity and habitat utilization.

The upshot of all this is, blackfin is a distinctly treasured fish in Florida. Arguably, in the current age of provincial renaming, it’s the “Florida Tuna.”

Even in Stuart, Florida—yes, the “Sailfish Capital of the World”—local captains give high regard to blackfin tuna. Captains Nick Cremasco and Justin Rieger, fishing aboard the 34-foot SeaVee DayMaker, put a spread of kite and flatline baits out on an edge in 140 feet of water. The two captains and their guest anglers were field-testing new reels from Quantum Fishing. Several little tunny—good tackle-testers but disparaged for their “wangy,” rusty-iron flavor—had taken baits. The anglers were expecting more of the same. But when a jet-black missile with noticeably long pectoral fins arced out of the water on a sardine bait, attention was riveted.

“I see color; I see gold,” Rieger announced, holding a gaff as angler Mike Caruso pumped and reeled 20-pound-test high-vis mono onto the 8000-series Cabo reel.

Safely in the icebox, the fish looked to weigh more than 15 pounds—not an esepecially big one, but plenty big enough to generate excitement and, later, a platter of honey-sesame seared goodness.

“Where we used to see lots of small ‘footballs’ around here, we’re seeing bigger blackfins,” said Cremasco. “Lots of 20- and 30-pounders, and they seem to be staying more months of the year.”

The crew had put five nice dolphin in the box, but today the blackfin was the proverbial day-maker on the DayMaker.

About Blackfin Regs, Limits

Florida bag limit for blackfin tuna (there is no minimum size) is spelled out thusly: 2 fish per person or 10 per vessel, whichever is greater.

What does “whichever is greater” mean, you ask?

According to FWC Public Information Officer Robin Simoneaux, “It means if 8 anglers were on board [for instance], they could keep 2 each and have 16 for the day. (16 would be the greater at 2 fish per person than the 10 fish total vessel count). If 2 anglers were on board, they could harvest 10 total, as that would be greater than the 4 at the 2 per person count.”

Contrast this with the more conservatively phrased bag limit for cobia, which is 1 per person or 2 per vessel, whichever is less. This phrasing means that one person, fishing alone, may keep 1 cobia. Four persons on a boat, for instance, may collectively retain no more than 2 cobia on that boat.

The blackfin tuna bag/vessel limit, we should add, applies not only in Florida state waters (out 3 miles on the Atlantic coast, 9 on the Gulf) but also all the way offshore into adjacent federal waters. A federal HMS permit is not required to land blackfin, but is required for yellowfin tuna, skipjack and some other bluewater species.

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• This article was featured as a Florida Gem in the August-September issue of Florida Sportsman magazine. Click to subscribe.

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