Croatia · Spearfishing zone
Ports and harbours (diving and fishing prohibited / approval required)
What this zone is
Overview
How spearfishing is treated at Ports and harbours (diving and fishing prohibited / approval required).
Diving — and therefore spearfishing, which Croatian law defines as breath-hold diving (Zakon o morskom ribarstvu čl. 31(4)) — is prohibited in ports, port approaches and the narrow waterways and channels used for navigation: 'Zabranjeno je kupanje, plivanje i ronjenje u lukama i prilazima luka, uskim vodenim prolazima i kanalima u kojima se obavlja plovidba' (Pravilnik o uvjetima i načinu održavanja reda u lukama…, NN 72/2021, čl. 49). Separately, sport and recreational activities inside a port area may be carried out only with the approval of the body managing the port and the consent of the harbourmaster's office (čl. 43). The former national ban on sport/recreational fishing on beaches and bathing places from 1 May to 1 October (Pravilnik NN 155/2014, čl. 6(5)) was repealed in December 2017 and has NOT been re-enacted — neither the current Pravilnik o sportskom i rekreacijskom ribolovu na moru (NN 48/2026) nor the Marine Fisheries Act contains it. Restrictions at organised bathing places are now set locally under the maritime-domain regime, so check the municipality's or concessionaire's rules for the specific beach.
Source
This zone is documented in the official source below.
Before you dive
License for Croatia
Whether you need a license to spearfish here, and how to get one.
A sport licence may be issued ONLY to a member of a sport-fishing federation. For the ANNUAL sport licence the member must belong to HSSRM specifically (Zakon čl. 28. st. 1. t. b)); for DAILY and MULTI-DAY sport licences membership of any national sport-fishing federation suffices (Zakon čl. 29. st. 3.), which is the route open to a visiting foreign spearfisher who holds their own federation's card - at purchase the buyer states the membership-card number and the name of the national federation (Pravilnik čl. 19. st. 3.). Issuing a sport licence contrary to čl. 29. st. 3. is a listed misdemeanour. All sport licences and their special permits are sold by HSSRM member associations (Pravilnik čl. 18. st. 4.); since NN 48/2026, daily and multi-day sport licences may also be bought through the Directorate of Fisheries online shop (čl. 18. st. 5.). Recreational licences are sold by the Ministry - Directorate of Fisheries, its regional offices, authorised vendors and its online shop (čl. 18. st. 1.). All licences are issued electronically. Budget for the licence fee PLUS the federation membership card (and any club subscription).
Get your licenseOpens the official portal · hssrm.hr