Spearfishing rules

You cannot spearfish without a valid spearfishing licence — it is not the same licence as for shore or boat angling. This is an autonomic competence: the state draws the zone map, but the licence is issued by the coastal autonomous community or the cities of Ceuta and Melilla. That is why the price, validity and required documents (medical certificate, insurance, sometimes a federation licence for the speargun) differ from region to region — see the card for your community below. The licence is personal and must be carried with you in the water.

Spearfishing in Spain is strictly on a single breath (a pulmón libre). Using scuba or any other apparatus that lets you breathe underwater is prohibited. The rule goes further: the law forbids even carrying spearfishing gear and underwater breathing equipment aboard the boat at the same time — you may not bring both a speargun and tanks "just in case". This removes the very possibility of shooting fish on scuba, which gives an unfair advantage and quickly empties the water.

You may only hunt during daylight. Night spearfishing — from sunset to sunrise (del ocaso al orto) — is banned nationwide. The reason is both safety and protecting the fish: at night many species sleep in shelters and become defenceless, and a hunter with a torch barely misses. Go by the official sunset and sunrise times for your stretch of coast, not by eye — twilight already counts as night.

Attracting or dazzling fish with artificial light is not allowed: spotlights and powerful light sources are banned — a direct consequence of the night ban and a safeguard against unsporting methods. The only exception is a hand torch (linterna de mano): you may light your way or look into a crevice, but not use it as a lure. Also prohibited are spearguns with explosive, electric or electronic tips.

Every spearfisher must mark their position with a clearly visible signal buoy and not move more than 25 metres (0.013 nautical miles) from it. This is about your life: the buoy is the only thing the helm of a boat or jet-ski above you can see. Many communities require a buoy of a specific colour (orange, red or yellow), often with an "alpha" or diver-down flag. Stay close to the buoy and tow it as you move — especially when crossing water with boat traffic.

The distance is tied to where you hunt, not to where you enter the water. The federal minimum is not to shoot fish within 100 metres of beaches and places where people swim; many communities require more: Catalonia and the Balearics 200 m, Andalusia 250 m. In practice this means: you may enter from the beach, but the speargun stays unloaded while you are among people and inside the prohibited band; you load and start hunting only once beyond the distance, and on the way back you unload again while still in the water. On a small, crowded beach even a legal transit with a speargun draws complaints — entering from unfrequented rocks nearby is calmer.

Inside ports, harbours and their access channels spearfishing is banned — there is boat traffic, mooring and anchoring, and a hunter in the water is a direct hazard. The ban also covers vessel anchoring areas and navigation channels. Several communities add prohibited buffers around aquaculture and artificial reefs.

A loaded speargun belongs only in the water and only while you are hunting. Taking a loaded fusil out of the water, keeping it loaded on the shore, on a boat or near people is prohibited; on land and in transport the speargun must be unloaded. This is a cross-cutting safety rule of the autonomic decrees: a speargun is a weapon and must be handled as one. Load it only once you are past the distance from people and ready to shoot.

Every species has a minimum landing size (talla mínima): you may not take a fish below the limit — if you see it is undersized, release it. Sizes are set at two levels: the EU Regulation 1967/2006 (Annex III) and Spain's RD 560/1995; where they differ, the stricter one applies. Length is measured total, from snout to tail tip. Exact centimetres per species, with source links, are in the "Sizes" section of this site.

In marine reserves (reservas marinas) spearfishing is completely banned — these are the red zones on our map. Within the reserves there are also integral cores with maximum protection, where even entry and diving without a permit are often closed. Fines for hunting in a reserve run to tens of thousands of euros, and gear is confiscated. Check the point on the zone map before you go — neither distance nor an unloaded speargun exempts you inside a reserve.

Beyond sizes, some species may not be taken at all. Protected species are strictly banned — for example the Mediterranean fan mussel Pinna nobilis (nacra) and the date mussel Lithophaga lithophaga. Several communities separately close octopus, sea urchins, sea anemones, sea cucumbers and bivalve molluscs to spearfishing, and some limit certain species (grouper, sea bass) to one per day. The lists differ by community and by season — check the local rule before you go.