Puerto Rico Spearfishing Rules Card

Legal status

Saltwater LegalFreshwater Not permitted

Spearfishing (pesca submarina) is legal in Puerto Rico's marine waters using a hand-powered or band/rubber speargun while free-diving (apnea) only, using a speargun together with a dive tank (SCUBA) is prohibited.

License

No license required in practice. Recreational fishers, including spearfishers, do NOT currently need a license in Puerto Rico. The 2010 Reglamento de Pesca 7949 (Art.

Gear rules

• Spearguns: Allowed for marine recreational fishing while free-diving (apnea) only. 'Arpon' is defined (Art.
• Pole spears: Covered by the same 'arpon' definition (manual or mechanical projectile device, Art. 4.6) and subject to the same rules as spearguns.
• On scuba: No. It is illegal for a recreational fisher to use a spear (arpon) and a dive tank at the same time (Reglamento 7949, Art. 18.2).
• No spearing at night, from sunset to sunrise (Art. 8.5)
• No spearing within 100 ft (30.48 m) of the coast; within that zone the spear must always be kept unloaded/discharged (Art. 8.6)
• No spearing in docks (muelles), reservoirs (embalses), rivers, estuaries, swimmer-reserved areas, designated areas or Marine Reserves.
• No spear + dive tank simultaneously (Art. 18.2)

Do not spear

• Nassau grouper
• Goliath grouper
• Sea turtles
• Marine mammals
• Nurse shark
• Tarpon
• Bonefish
• Permit
• Longbill spearfish
• Corals

…and 1 more — full list at islandspearco.com/regulations/puerto-rico

Area restrictions

• Isla de Desecheo - fishing prohibited within a 1/2-mile perimeter; designated Marine Reserve by Ley Num. 57 of 10 March 2000 (Art. 8.7)
• Reserva Natural Isla de Mona y Monito - fishing prohibited within a 1-mile restricted perimeter; only shoreline line-and-single-hook fishing allowed.
• Reserva Marina Tres Palmas, Rincon - fishing prohibited within mapped coordinates (Art. 8.9)
• Reserva Natural del Canal Luis Pena, Culebra - fishing prohibited within mapped coordinates (Art. 8.10)

Before you dive

• Never dive alone: one up, one down.
• Check current seasons and sizes the morning of the dive.
• Confirm with Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales (DRNA): https://www.drna.pr.gov/reglamentos-es/reglamento-num-7949/