When is blackfin tuna season in the Florida Keys?
Most of the year: the Keys tourism council grades blackfin tuna Peak from September to April and Good through the summer. Key West captains chunk, jig and troll the offshore humps for them. Florida allows two per person or ten per boat, whichever is greater, with no minimum size.
What blackfin tuna are
The smallest tuna in the western Atlantic. FWC gives them as common to 28 inches; the Florida Museum says they are most often taken at about 20 inches and 7 pounds, and may live past five years. The IGFA all-tackle record is 49 pounds 6 ounces. They feed on small fish, invertebrates and plankton in coastal to offshore water, and are one of the commonest foods of the blue marlin.
When blackfin run in the Keys
The Keys tourism council grades blackfin tuna Peak in January, February, March, April, September, October, November and December and Good in May, June, July and August.
Laid Back Key West says they run hot in spring (April and May) and again in the late-fall transition (November and December), around offshore structure. Key West Fishing Deals says winter is strongest.
How Key West captains fish for blackfin
Named by Key West Fishing Deals, Blind Squirrel, Charter Boat Linda D, Gulfstream, Eva Marie, Florida Straits and Laid Back on their own websites or booking pages.
- Florida Straits Sportfishing chunks, live-baits and trolls the humps and deep edges, and kite-fishes them in winter and fall.
- Key West Fishing Deals chunks and jigs the humps.
- Blind Squirrel’s shrimp-boat trip chums behind working shrimp trawlers, where blackfin are among the fish that come up.
Can you keep blackfin tuna?
Every limit for every common Keys fish is on what fish you can keep.
| Rule | FWC, Keys state waters |
|---|---|
| Minimum size | None |
| Bag limit | 2 per person or 10 per boat, whichever is greater |
| Season | Open all year |
| Source | FWC: Blackfin tuna |
Which trip to book for blackfin
An offshore trip long enough to reach the humps, usually six to eight hours: private three-quarter days ran $900–$1,500 and full days $1,250–$2,000 per boat in the October 2026 scan. See deep-sea fishing.
Read for this page on 6 October 2026: FWC: blackfin tuna profile ; Florida Museum: blackfin tuna ; IGFA game fish database .
Check it at the source
- FWC — Recreational saltwater fishing regulations Current state size limits, bag limits and seasons, species by species. Link checked 6 September 2026
Blackfin tuna: questions
How many blackfin tuna can you keep in Florida?
Two per person or ten per boat, whichever is greater, with no minimum size, per FWC’s billfish and tuna page. So a boat of three anglers may keep ten, not six.
Where do you catch blackfin tuna in Key West?
Offshore, on underwater humps and deep edges. Florida Straits Sportfishing names spots such as the Wall and the Marathon Humps, and Key West Fishing Deals chunks and jigs the humps. It usually takes a six to eight-hour trip to reach them.
When are blackfin tuna biting in the Keys?
The Keys tourism council grades them Peak from September to April and Good in summer. Laid Back Key West names April–May and November–December as the hottest runs.
Next step
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