North Carolina Spearfishing Rules Card

Legal status

Saltwater LegalFreshwater Permitted

North Carolina has a long Atlantic coast, and spearfishing is expressly legal in its salt (coastal and joint) waters, above and below the surface, under a Coastal Recreational Fishing License (CRFL) issued by the NC Division of Marine Fisheries.

License

Required: Coastal Recreational Fishing License (CRFL) for salt/coastal/joint waters (NC DMF); Inland Fishing License for fresh/inland waters (NCWRC)

Resident: Coastal (CRFL): resident annual $19, resident 10-day $8. Inland: resident annual $30, resident 10-day $11; a resident Unified Inland/Coastal annual is $49; resident age 70+ can buy a lifetime senior license for $19.

Non-resident: Coastal (CRFL): nonresident annual $38, nonresident 10-day $14. Inland: nonresident annual $54, nonresident 10-day $28.

Gear rules

• Spearguns: Legal in salt water. The DMF defines a 'spear' to include devices that 'propel pointed implements by mechanical means, including elastic.
• Pole spears: Legal in salt water as a hand-propelled or mechanically-propelled 'gig'/'spear' under the DMF definitions; used under a CRFL.
• On scuba: Not expressly addressed by DMF or NCWRC in the sources reviewed.
• SALT: it is unlawful to remove, take or possess red drum taken with any boat hook, gaff, spear, gig or similar device
• SALT: it is unlawful to take spiny lobster with a gaff, spear or similar device, a speared/pierced/punctured spiny lobster is prima facie.
• SALT: it is unlawful to possess American lobster whose outer shell has been speared
• SALT: it is unlawful to take stone crabs with any device that can puncture, crush or injure the crab (gigs, spears, hooks, etc.)

Do not spear

• SALT WATER, may NOT be gigged, speared or gaffed: red drum
• SALT WATER, may NOT be speared; recreational take by rod-and-reel or handline only: sharks
• SALT WATER, may NOT be gigged, speared or gaffed: striped bass
• SALT WATER, may NOT be speared/gigged: tarpon
• SALT WATER, may NOT be taken by spear/gaff or possessed if speared: spiny lobster
• SALT WATER, may NOT be possessed if speared: American lobster
• SALT WATER, may NOT be taken with any puncturing/crushing device: stone crabs
• SALT WATER, any species that is not currently in season may not be gigged or speared
• FRESH WATER, ALL inland game fish may be taken ONLY by hook and line, so may NOT be speared/gigged/bowfished: all black bass

Area restrictions

• Public Mountain Trout Waters (inland), gigs may not be used there
• Impounded waters on Sandhills Game Land, and reservoirs with grass-carp restrictions, bowfishing/archery taking of nongame fish is not allowed there
• Pee Dee River downstream of Blewett Falls Dam, archery equipment may take catfish only
• Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Cape Lookout National Seashore, gig/spear/bow fishing IS permitted in these coastal waters

Before you dive

• Never dive alone: one up, one down.
• Check current seasons and sizes the morning of the dive.
• Confirm with North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) — inland/fresh waters; and NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) — coastal/joint (salt) waters: https://www.ncwildlife.gov/fishing