American Samoa Spearfishing Rules Card

Legal status

Saltwater LegalFreshwater Permitted

Spearfishing is legal and culturally central in American Samoa's reef waters, the sling/pole spear ('tuli a'au') is a traditional Samoan method and spears are an enumerated lawful fishing gear under territorial law.

License

No license required in practice. Recreational and subsistence spearfishers need NO license in practice. Under ASAC 24.0939 a commercial fishing license is required only for 'fishermen engaging in commercial fishing in the waters of American Samoa', i.e.

Gear rules

• Spearguns: Legal in general reef waters, spearguns are a recognized subsistence gear.
• Pole spears: Legal in general reef waters, and the pole spear is specifically the spear method allowed for traditional subsistence fishing (by residents.
• On scuba: NO, SCUBA spearfishing is prohibited territory-wide.
• SCUBA / any underwater breathing apparatus may not be used to take fish or shellfish, and SCUBA gear may not be possessed together with.
• Using any light to attract fish is prohibited from one hour before sunset until one hour after sunrise (night-light ban).
• Bow-and-arrow / crossbow taking of fish or shellfish is prohibited.
• Spears and snagging devices may not be used to collect slipper lobsters (24.0935(b)).

Do not spear

• Sea turtles, green
• Marine mammals, take/possession prohibited
• All invertebrates inside the National Marine Sanctuary
• Slipper lobster, may NOT be taken with spears or snagging devices, and no egg-bearing slipper lobster may be taken
• Spiny lobster, no egg-bearing individuals and none under 3-1/8 inch carapace length
• Giant/tridacnid clams under 7 inches, and egg-bearing coconut crabs and mangrove crabs
• Coral, no collection of living coral shallower than 60 ft, no commercial harvest without permit

Area restrictions

• National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa (NOAA), six protected units including Fagatele Bay (designated 1986; expanded and renamed 2012).
• Rose Atoll National Wildlife Refuge: no taking or attempting to take fish, no possession/damage of invertebrates or coral, and no entry without.
• National Park of American Samoa waters (Tutuila, Ofu, Ta'u): only traditional subsistence fishing is allowed, open to residents and visitors alike.
• Village Marine Protected Areas (VMPAs) / Community-Based Fisheries Management Areas: individual villages set their own closures, seasons, species.

Before you dive

• Never dive alone: one up, one down.
• Check current seasons and sizes the morning of the dive.
• Confirm with American Samoa Government Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources (DMWR): https://dmwr.as.gov/