Bangladesh
Asia · Southern Asia
Bangladesh has no dedicated recreational spearfishing regime, and the practice is effectively prohibited by general fisheries law. The Protection and Conservation of Fish Act, 1950 (as amended) empowers the Government to prohibit the destruction of fish by 'explosives, electrofishing device, gun, bow and arrow' in inland water, coastal territorial waters and Bangladesh marine fisheries waters — wording that covers spearguns, harpoons and similar projectile gear. The Marine Fisheries Act, 2020 (which repealed the Marine Fisheries Ordinance, 1983) regulates commercial and artisanal fishing through licences and permits and contains no provision authorising recreational or sport spearfishing; legal scholars note recreational fishing is simply not covered by the marine law. Large Marine Protected Areas (St Martin's Island, Swatch of No Ground) and Ecologically Critical Areas further restrict or ban fishing activity. There is no licence pathway under which a recreational diver could lawfully spearfish, so the activity is treated as not allowed.
Última actualització Juny 14, 2026
Marc normatiu aplicable
- §Protection and Conservation of Fish Act, 1950 (East Bengal Act No. XVIII of 1950), as amended (esp. amendment empowering prohibition of destruction of fish by gun, bow and arrow in marine fisheries waters)
- §Marine Fisheries Act, 2020 (Act No. XIX of 2020)
- §Marine Fisheries Ordinance, 1983 (repealed by the Marine Fisheries Act, 2020) — historical sport-fishing rule-making power
- §Wildlife (Conservation and Security) Act, 2012 (basis for Marine Protected Area declarations)
- Fusell
- Prohibit
- Estrangers
- No permès
La llei, literalment
Textos legals
Les disposicions legals i reglamentàries exactes que regulen la pesca submarina aquí, citades tal com es publiquen, amb un enllaç a cada font oficial.
Power to prohibit destruction of fish by gun, bow and arrow, explosives and electrofishing
Protection and Conservation of Fish Act, 1950 (East Bengal Act No. XVIII of 1950), as amended
[(b) prohibit the destruction of, or any attempt to destroy, fishes by explosives, electrofishing device, gun, bow and arrow in inland water or within coastal territorial waters or Bangladesh marine fisheries waters; Explanation.- For the purposes of this clause, “Bangladesh marine fisheries waters” means “Bangladesh marine fisheries waters” defined by clause (10) of section 2 of the Marine Fisheries Act, 2020 (Act No XIX of 2020).]
Penalties for breach of fisheries prohibitions
Protection and Conservation of Fish Act, 1950 (East Bengal Act No. XVIII of 1950), as amended
[5. (1) The breach of any rule made under section 3 or of any prohibition notified under section 4 shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term which [may extend to 2 (two) years, or with fine which may extend to 5 (five) lakh] Taka, or with both.]
Prohibited fishing methods — use of explosives, poison and prohibited gear (repealed 1983 Ordinance, indicative of marine regime)
Marine Fisheries Ordinance, 1983 (repealed by Marine Fisheries Act, 2020)
Use of explosives, etc. 26. (1) Any person, other than a person authorised in writing by the Director, who in the Bangladesh fisheries waters,- (a) uses, or attempts to use, any explosive, poison or other noxious substances for the purpose of killing, stunning, disabling or catching fish, or in any other way rendering such fish more easily caught; or (b) carries, or has in his possession or control, any explosive, poison or other noxious substances with the intention of using such explosive, poison or other noxious substance for any of the purposes referred to in clause (a); or (c) uses, or attempts to use, any prohibited methods of fishing as may be prescribed, or carries, or has in his possession or control, on board any vessel, any fishing gear prohibited under any rule made under this Ordinance; ... shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding Taka one lakh or fifteen times the value of the fish, whichever is greater.
Rule-making power to organise and regulate sport fishing (never implemented; not carried into the 2020 Act)
Marine Fisheries Ordinance, 1983 (repealed by Marine Fisheries Act, 2020)
(k) organising and regulating sport fishing in the Bangladesh fisheries waters;
Quan podeu bussejar
Temporades i restriccions horàries
Períodes tancats, oberts i restringits al llarg de l'any. Confirmeu sempre localment els tancaments per espècie.
- TancatAll marine fishing in the Bay of Bengal (commercial and artisanal); enforced annually by the Department of FisheriesMai 20 – Jul 23
Annual 65-day marine fishing ban in the Bay of Bengal to protect spawning fish stocks. Dates are set by Government notification and vary slightly year to year; the 2024 ban ran 20 May to 23 July. While framed for commercial/artisanal fishing, it reflects a general prohibition on extracting marine fish during this period.
Permís per pescar
Llicència
Què necessiteu per poder estar a l'aigua, quant costa i com obtenir-ho.
There is no licensing pathway for recreational spearfishing. Marine fishing licences and permits under the Marine Fisheries Act, 2020 are for commercial industrial vessels and artisanal fishing vessels, not for recreational divers. Killing fish with a gun, bow and arrow (covering spearguns/harpoons) may be prohibited under section 3(b) of the Protection and Conservation of Fish Act, 1950.
Obteniu la vostra llicènciaObre el portal oficial · fisheries.portal.gov.bd
- Tipus
- No recreational spearfishing licence exists
- Cost
- unknown
- Validesa
- unknown
- Com obtenir-la
- There is no licensing pathway for recreational spearfishing. Marine fishing licences and permits under the Marine Fisheries Act, 2020 are for commercial industrial vessels and artisanal fishing vessels, not for recreational divers. Killing fish with a gun, bow and arrow (covering spearguns/harpoons) may be prohibited under section 3(b) of the Protection and Conservation of Fish Act, 1950.
- Autoritat
- Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock
Equip i tècnica
Normes d'equipament
Quin equip és permès, com s'ha d'utilitzar i les condicions aplicables.
Restriccions
- Destruction of fish by 'gun, bow and arrow' (covering spearguns and harpoons) may be prohibited in inland, coastal and marine waters under section 3(b) of the Protection and Conservation of Fish Act, 1950 (as amended)
- Destruction of fish by explosives, electrofishing devices and poison is prohibited under fisheries law (Protection and Conservation of Fish Act, 1950 s.3; Marine Fisheries regime)
No statute or rule positively authorises spearguns for recreational use. The 'gun, bow and arrow' prohibition is read to encompass projectile underwater hunting gear, so speargun use is treated as not allowed.
Què podeu capturar
Límits de captures i espècies protegides
Quotes diàries, mides mínimes i espècies que mai no es poden capturar.
Límit diari
unknown
Espècies protegides — no capturar
- ProtegitSharks (protected in Marine Protected Areas; whale sharks)
- ProtegitMarine mammals — Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins, porpoises, whales (Wildlife (Conservation and Security) Act, 2012; MPA protections)
- ProtegitMarine turtles — olive ridley, green, loggerhead
- ProtegitCorals (St Martin's Island)
- ProtegitRays — white-spotted whipray, long-tailed butterfly ray
No recreational spearfishing catch limits exist because the activity is not provided for. Many high-value reef and pelagic species in the accessible St Martin's / coral-reef area are protected under MPA and wildlife law.
Qui pot pescar
Visitants i residents
Com difereixen les normes per als visitants estrangers i els residents locals.
Visitants estrangers
No permèsRestriccions
- No recreational spearfishing licence is available to anyone, resident or foreign
- Marine Protected Areas (St Martin's Island, Swatch of No Ground) restrict fishing activity
- St Martin's Island access for tourists is itself increasingly restricted by the Government for conservation reasons
Foreign visitors have no lawful route to recreational spearfishing; the general prohibitions and lack of any permit regime apply equally to them.
Residents
No recreational spearfishing licence type exists
Residents likewise have no recreational spearfishing licence pathway. Commercial/artisanal marine fishing requires a licence or permit under the Marine Fisheries Act, 2020, which is unrelated to recreational underwater hunting.
On a la costa
Zones permeses i prohibides
Àrees nominades obertes o tancades per a la pesca submarina. Veieu el panorama complet al mapa interactiu.
Àrees prohibides
- St Martin's Island Marine Protected Areamarine protected area
Approximately 1,743 km2 of the Bay of Bengal around St Martin's Island, declared a Marine Protected Area in 2022 under sections 13(1) and 13(2) of the Wildlife (Conservation and Security) Act, 2012. Bangladesh's only coral reef and ~230 finfish species. Coral destruction and uncontrolled/overfishing are restricted; the area is the prime location any diver might attempt spearfishing, and it is protected. A 590-hectare part of the island was also declared an Ecologically Critical Area in 1999.
- Swatch of No Ground Marine Protected Areamarine protected area
Bangladesh's first Marine Protected Area (declared 2014), a submarine canyon in the Bay of Bengal south of Dublar Char, roughly 1,738 km2, declared under the Wildlife (Conservation and Security) Act, 2012. A hotspot for cetaceans (dolphins, porpoises, whales) and sharks; fishing and unauthorised activities are restricted.
- Nijhum Dwip Marine Reservemarine reserve
Marine protected area of roughly 3,188 km2 of estuarine waters at the mouth of the Meghna river system, around Nijhum Dwip (Noakhali District), declared in 2019 by Bangladesh. Adjacent to Nijhum Dwip National Park (a Forest Department protected area). Part of Bangladesh's expansion of marine protected areas (~8.8% of EEZ); fishing and extractive activity are restricted in these reserve waters, so spearfishing would not be lawful here.
- Sonadia Island Ecologically Critical Areaecologically critical area
Barrier island off the Cox's Bazar coast (Kutubjom Union, Maheshkhali Upazila), ~15 km north-west of Cox's Bazar town, declared a national Ecologically Critical Area in 1999 under the Environment Conservation Act, 1995. Supports the last remnant mangrove in SE Bangladesh and is a nesting site for olive ridley and green sea turtles, plus cetaceans and shorebirds. As an ECA the surrounding marine area is protected and extractive activity (including underwater hunting of protected species) is restricted.
Condicions a l'aigua
Condicions en directe
Instantània marina i meteorològica en directe prop d'un punt de referència costaner de Bangladesh, de Open-Meteo. Les condicions varien al llarg de la costa — tracteu-ho com a indicatiu.
Marina i meteorologia en directe prop de St Martin's Island Marine Protected Area.
A qui preguntar
Autoritats
Els organismes oficials responsables de la pesca i les llicències.
Department of Fisheries (DoF), Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock
fisheries authority
fisheries.portal.gov.bdMatshya Bhaban, Ramna, Dhaka, BangladeshMarine Fisheries Office / Marine Fisheries Department, Chattogram
marine fisheries authority
marine.fisheries.gov.bdChattogram (Chittagong), BangladeshDepartment of Environment (Ecologically Critical Areas) / Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Marine Protected Areas under Wildlife Act 2012)
environment ministry
doe.gov.bdDhaka, Bangladesh
D'on prové aquesta informació
Fonts
Cada afirmació d'aquesta pàgina es remunta a una d'aquestes referències.
- [01]
Protection and Conservation of Fish Act, 1950 (Act No. XVIII of 1950) — full text, Laws of Bangladesh
Oficialbdlaws.minlaw.gov.bdConsultat el Jun 14 - [02]
Marine Fisheries Ordinance, 1983 (repealed) — full text including Part VII prohibited methods and sport-fishing rule-making power, Laws of Bangladesh
Oficialbdlaws.minlaw.gov.bdConsultat el Jun 14 - [03]
The Marine Fisheries Act 2020: An Appraisal (notes that marine fisheries law does not cover recreational fishing)
Secundaribsmrmu.edu.bdConsultat el Jun 14 - [04]
Marine Fisheries Act 2020 of Bangladesh: A Missed Opportunity — The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law (Brill)
Secundaribrill.comConsultat el Jun 14 - [05]
Conservation and Protection of Fisheries Resources of Bangladesh — BdFISH Feature
Secundarien.bdfish.orgConsultat el Jun 14 - [06]
St Martin's Island declared marine protected area — The Daily Star
Secundarithedailystar.netConsultat el Jun 14 - [07]
Swatch of No Ground Marine Protected Area — Wikipedia
Secundarien.wikipedia.orgConsultat el Jun 14 - [08]
Overfishing leads to decline in Bangladesh marine fish stocks & diversity (65-day marine fishing ban) — Mongabay
Secundarinews.mongabay.comConsultat el Jun 14
Notes de l'investigador
Bangladesh has no specific spearfishing or recreational-fishing legislation. The operative restriction is section 3(b) of the Protection and Conservation of Fish Act, 1950 (as amended), which empowers prohibition of destroying fish by 'gun, bow and arrow' (covering spearguns/harpoons), plus explosives and electrofishing, in inland, coastal and marine fisheries waters, with penalties up to 2 years imprisonment and/or a 5 lakh Taka fine under section 5(1). The Marine Fisheries Act, 2020 (Act No. XIX of 2020) repealed the Marine Fisheries Ordinance, 1983 and governs commercial/artisanal fishing via licences and permits; legal scholarship confirms it does not cover recreational fishing. The earlier 1983 Ordinance contained an unused rule-making power to 'organise and regulate sport fishing', but no sport-fishing rules were ever made and the power was not retained in the 2020 Act. Verbatim provisions for the Marine Fisheries Act 2020 itself could not be retrieved in clean text (the bdlaws act-print-646 page serves the predecessor 1983 Ordinance, and the official 2020 Act PDF was not machine-readable), so the 1983 Ordinance text is included as indicative of the marine prohibited-methods regime rather than as currently-in-force marine law. Confidence is medium: the inland/coastal prohibition (PCFA 1950 s.3(b)) is verbatim from the official portal and clearly covers spear-type gear, but the absence of an explicit, named 'spearfishing' ban means the 'no' status is an interpretation of general gear prohibitions plus the absence of any authorising licence regime. Coordinates for the two MPAs are approximate (St Martin's from island location ~20.63N 92.32E; Swatch of No Ground from Wikipedia ~21.25N 89.47E).
Notifiqueu-me quan canviïn les normes de Bangladesh
Us enviarem un correu quan les temporades o normatives de Bangladesh s'actualitzin en el nostre conjunt de dades.