District of Columbia Spearfishing Rules Card

Legal status

Saltwater RestrictedFreshwater Not permitted

Spearfishing is effectively illegal in the District of Columbia. Under 19 DCMR 1502.2, a person may fish 'only with rod, hook, and line,' and 19 DCMR 1503.1(h) makes it unlawful to take fish by any method not specified in the chapter.

License

No license required in practice. A DC angling license is genuinely required to fish AT ALL in District waters: 19 DCMR 1501.1 requires any person fishing in DC waters (including Rock Creek Park, and even when fishing from the Virginia shoreline or National Park lands) to possess a valid.

Gear rules

• Spearguns: Prohibited. Spearguns are not among the permitted methods in 19 DCMR 1502; taking fish by any unspecified method is unlawful under 19 DCMR.
• Pole spears: Prohibited. Pole spears are not a permitted method under 19 DCMR 1502.2 (rod, hook, and line only); taking fish by any unspecified method.
• On scuba: Moot / not applicable. Because spearfishing is illegal in DC regardless of how one is submerged, SCUBA or free-diving to spear fish is not.
• Only rod, hook, and line is permitted (max 3 lines, max 2 hooks per line); artificial lures/plugs with multiple or gang hooks count as one.
• Dip nets are prohibited except for capturing baitfish (gizzard shad, blueback herring, alewife) and landing angled fish; max 24 inches.
• Seine nets and cast nets are prohibited, 19 DCMR 1502.4.
• Snagging is prohibited except for blueback herring, alewife, gizzard shad, and menhaden, 19 DCMR 1502.5.

Do not spear

• ALL species, no fish of any kind may be taken by spear/speargun/pole spear/Hawaiian sling/gig/bow in the District of Columbia, because spearfishing is not a permitted method
• Beyond the blanket spearfishing ban, the following may not be taken by ANY method
• Any species listed by the U.S. Department of the Interior as endangered or threatened must be returned to the water immediately and may not be harmed, 19 DCMR 1503.1(e)

Area restrictions

• Rock Creek Park: nets of any kind are prohibited for catching fish, and digging for bait is prohibited (19 DCMR 1503.2, 1503.3); dip nets are banned.
• The DC license requirement and fishing rules apply to all fishable District waters, including when fishing from the Virginia shoreline or from.
• Much of DC's waterfront falls within National Park Service jurisdiction (e.g., Rock Creek Park, the C&O Canal, National Mall waters); NPS units carry.

Before you dive

• Never dive alone: one up, one down.
• Check current seasons and sizes the morning of the dive.
• Confirm with District of Columbia Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE), Fisheries & Wildlife Division: https://doee.dc.gov/service/fisheries-and-wildlife