Alaska Spearfishing Rules Card

Legal status

Saltwater LegalFreshwater Permitted

Spearfishing is fully legal in Alaska's vast salt waters. Under 5 AAC 75.028, a person who is completely submerged or swimming on the surface may use a spear or speargun in salt water to take fish, provided the tip carries no explosive charge and all seasons and bag/possession limits are observed.

License

Required: Alaska Sport Fishing License

Resident: $20 annual

Non-resident: $100 annual; also $15 for 1 day, $30 for 3 days, $45 for 7 days, $75 for 14 days

Gear rules

• Spearguns: Legal in salt water. A speargun (a device with a mechanical release or trigger that propels a spear by elastic bands, compressed gas.
• Pole spears: Legal in salt water. ADF&G separately defines 'Hawaiian sling or pole spear' as a shaft propelled by a single loop of elastic material that.
• On scuba: 5 AAC 75.028 permits taking fish in salt water while 'completely submerged or swimming on the surface' and does not prohibit SCUBA, so.
• No spear or speargun may be tipped with an explosive charge
• Spears/spearguns are salt-water gear only; taking fish with a spear in fresh water is prohibited unless an area regulation allows it
• All applicable seasons, size limits, and bag/possession limits apply to speared fish
• Anglers fishing for any species with an annual limit must record the harvest on a Sport Fishing Harvest Record Card

Do not spear

• In fresh water, game fish may not be taken by spear: salmon
• King salmon less than 28 inches in salt water: retention prohibited
• Any species during a closed season or beyond its bag/possession or size limit
• Halibut, rockfish, lingcod, Tanner crab, and king crab fisheries are not open year-round and are subject to season/limit closures

Area restrictions

• Freshwater spearing is allowed only where a specific area regulation (5 AAC 46-70) permits it; the statewide default is a spear prohibition in fresh.
• The Chatanika River has been closed to spear fishing since 1992 to conserve whitefish populations
• Emergency Orders can supersede published seasons and bag limits at any time and by area
• Pacific halibut is federally managed; area and charter/guided restrictions apply in addition to state gear rules

Before you dive

• Never dive alone: one up, one down.
• Check current seasons and sizes the morning of the dive.
• Confirm with Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G): https://www.adfg.alaska.gov