Kyrgyzstan
Asia · Central Asia
Kyrgyzstan is landlocked, so all spearfishing is freshwater (lakes, reservoirs and rivers). Underwater hunting with spearguns is explicitly LEGAL for recreational/amateur and sport fishing: the Rules of Amateur and Sport Fishing permitted 'ружья для подводной охоты' (spearguns) outside designated public recreation zones (point 9), and the general ban on firearms/pneumatic weapons explicitly excepts 'ружей и пистолетов для подводной охоты' (spearguns and underwater pistols) (point 16(1)). However it is restricted: it requires paid fishing tickets/permits (point 4) or a путёвка issued by the water-body user (point 5); it is closed during species-specific spawning seasons; it is banned in protected/closed zones; and a list of protected species (Issyk-Kul trout, Issyk-Kul bare osman, pike-asp, Turkestan barbel, whitefish, peled) may never be taken. Note: the 2015 Rules (Government Decree No. 410) and the 1997 Law 'On Fisheries' were repealed in 2025 by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 237 of 25 April 2025 as part of a fisheries-law overhaul; the umbrella framework is now Law No. 35 of 17 March 2021 'On aquaculture, fisheries and protection of aquatic biological resources'. The post-April-2025 replacement Rules were not retrievable at the time of research, so the verbatim provisions captured here are from the last published (25.04.2025) edition of the 2015 Rules; substantive treatment of spearguns has been consistent historically but the current edition should be re-verified.
Last updated July 31, 2025
Governing framework
- §Law of the Kyrgyz Republic No. 35 of 17 March 2021 'On aquaculture, fisheries and protection of aquatic biological resources' (current umbrella law, amendments as of 31.07.2025)
- §Rules of Amateur and Sport Fishing in Water Bodies of the Kyrgyz Republic, approved by Government Decree No. 410 of 24 June 2015 (last published edition 25.04.2025; repealed by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 237 of 25 April 2025)
- §Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 237 of 25 April 2025 (repealed and replaced the 2015 fisheries normative acts)
- §Law of the Kyrgyz Republic No. 39 of 25 June 1997 'On Fisheries' (repealed)
- License required
- Required
- Speargun
- Allowed
The law, verbatim
Legal texts
The exact statutory and regulatory provisions that govern spearfishing here, quoted as published, with a link to each official source.
Permitted fishing gear including spearguns
Rules of Amateur and Sport Fishing in Water Bodies of the Kyrgyz Republic (Government Decree No. 410 of 24 June 2015)
9. Любительский и спортивный лов рыбы разрешается удочками всех систем и наименований (блесна, спиннинги, кружки, жерлицы и другие разрешенные снасти), а также ружьями для подводной охоты вне зоны отдыха граждан.
Prohibited gear and methods (speargun exception to weapons ban)
Rules of Amateur and Sport Fishing in Water Bodies of the Kyrgyz Republic (Government Decree No. 410 of 24 June 2015)
16. Запрещается любительское и спортивное рыболовство: 1) кольцовками, спутниками, на глубинную блесну, с применением взрывчатых и отравляющих веществ, электротока, колющих орудий лова, огнестрельного и пневматического оружия (за исключением ружей и пистолетов для подводной охоты), а также способом багрения, петлями, сетными орудиями лова всех видов, ловушками всех конструкций, мордушками, подпусками, переметами, способом запруд и перегородок;
Closed (spawning) seasons by species and water body
Rules of Amateur and Sport Fishing in Water Bodies of the Kyrgyz Republic (Government Decree No. 410 of 24 June 2015)
17. Запрещается рыболовство в период нереста рыбы: 1) в озере Иссык-Куль: - чебака - с 15 марта по 30 апреля; - чебачка, линя, леща - с 1 мая по 1 июля; - маринки, османа - с 15 апреля по 15 мая; - сазана, карпа - с 15 мая по 15 июля; 2) на других рыбохозяйственных водоемах: - щуки, красноперки, плотвы, чебака, карася, окуня, усача, леща, маринки, линя, судака, сазана, карпа, сома, толстолобика, амура - с 1 мая по 1 июня; - османа речного - с 15 июня по 15 июля; - амударьинской (речной) форели - с 15 октября по 15 декабря.
Minimum sizes and permanently protected species
Rules of Amateur and Sport Fishing in Water Bodies of the Kyrgyz Republic (Government Decree No. 410 of 24 June 2015)
18. Запрещается: - лов рыбы менее следующих размеров (в сантиметрах): карася - 18, линя - 18, леща - 20, чебака - 17, сома - 40, маринки озерной - 25, маринки речной - 18, чебачка - 10, османа речного - 15, красноперки - 10, сазана - 20, карпа - 20, плотвы - 12, усача - 25, щуки - 20, амударьинской (речной) форели - 20, судака - без ограничения размера ...; - любительский и спортивный лов иссык-кульской форели, иссык-кульского голого османа, щуковидного жереха-лысача и туркестанского усача, а также сига и пеляди; - находиться на водоеме или в непосредственной близости от него с взрывчатыми и отравляющими веществами, а также с запрещенными орудиями рыболовства;
Permit/ticket requirement and night-fishing / closed-zone bans
Rules of Amateur and Sport Fishing in Water Bodies of the Kyrgyz Republic (Government Decree No. 410 of 24 June 2015)
4. Любительское и спортивное рыболовство и лов ценных лимитируемых видов рыб (речная форель и речной осман) в рыбохозяйственных водоемах, рыболовных угодьях и реках Кыргызской Республики осуществляются по платным рыболовным билетам и карточкам уполномоченного государственного органа управления рыбным хозяйством. 5. Любительский и спортивный лов рыбы ... осуществляется по путевкам, выданным пользователями указанных водоемов. ... 16. Запрещается любительское и спортивное рыболовство: ... 6) с плавсредств, в темное время суток (с 22 до 5 часов утра); ... 11) на озере Иссык-Куль: - на рыболовном участке № 11 с плавсредств - с 1 ноября по 31 декабря; - на рыболовных участках №№ 15 и 39 - в течение всего года.
When you can dive
Seasons & time restrictions
Closed, open and restricted periods across the year. Always confirm species-specific closures locally.
- ClosedLake Issyk-Kul: chebak (Issyk-Kul dace)Mar 15 – Apr 30
Spawning closure for chebak in Lake Issyk-Kul (point 17(1)).
- ClosedLake Issyk-Kul: chebachek, tench, breamMay 1 – Jul 1
Spawning closure for chebachek, tench and bream in Lake Issyk-Kul (point 17(1)).
- ClosedLake Issyk-Kul: marinka, osmanApr 15 – May 15
Spawning closure for marinka and osman in Lake Issyk-Kul (point 17(1)).
- ClosedLake Issyk-Kul: sazan (wild carp), carpMay 15 – Jul 15
Spawning closure for sazan and carp in Lake Issyk-Kul (point 17(1)).
- ClosedOther fishery water bodies: pike, rudd, roach, chebak, crucian carp, perch, barbel, bream, marinka, tench, pike-perch, sazan, carp, catfish, silver carp, grass carpMay 1 – Jun 1
General spawning closure on water bodies other than Issyk-Kul (point 17(2)).
- ClosedOther water bodies: river osmanJun 15 – Jul 15
Spawning closure for river osman outside Issyk-Kul (point 17(2)).
- ClosedOther water bodies: Amu Darya (river) troutOct 15 – Dec 15
Spawning closure for Amu Darya river trout (point 17(2)).
- ClosedLake Issyk-Kul, fishing site No. 11 (from watercraft)Nov 1 – Dec 31
Fishing from watercraft banned at Issyk-Kul site No. 11 from 1 Nov to 31 Dec (point 16(11)).
Permission to fish
License
What you need to be allowed in the water, what it costs, and how to get it.
From the authorized state fisheries management body, or from the user of the assigned water body. Electronic fishing permits are reported to be obtainable online (e.g. via the MegaPay app, per secondary sources).
Get your licenseOpens the official portal · cbd.minjust.gov.kg
- Type
- Paid fishing ticket and card (рыболовный билет/карточка) issued by the authorized state fisheries body; or a путёвка (permit) issued by the water-body user/association for certain species
- Cost
- unknown
- Validity
- unknown
- How to obtain
- From the authorized state fisheries management body, or from the user of the assigned water body. Electronic fishing permits are reported to be obtainable online (e.g. via the MegaPay app, per secondary sources).
- Authority
- Authorized state fisheries management body (Department of Fisheries Complex under the Ministry of Agriculture / Ministry of Natural Resources, Ecology and Technical Supervision)
Gear & technique
Equipment rules
What gear is permitted, how it may be used, and the conditions attached.
Restrictions
- Spearguns ('ружья для подводной охоты') permitted only outside public recreation zones ('вне зоны отдыха граждан') (point 9).
- Speargun is treated as an exception to the general ban on firearms and pneumatic weapons (point 16(1)); secondary sources note guns/pistols must be of factory manufacture.
- No more than three tackles per angler or boat; total hooks not exceeding two per rod/tackle (point 10) - applies to rod fishing.
- Explosives, poisons, electric current, piercing implements, nets, traps and similar are prohibited (point 16(1)).
The speargun permission is explicit in two places of the 2015 Rules (points 9 and 16(1)). 'Public recreation zone' (зона отдыха граждан) where spearfishing is barred is not coordinate-defined in the Rules; check local signage. Scuba use for spearfishing is not addressed in the retrieved text.
What you may take
Catch limits & protected species
Daily quotas, minimum sizes, and species that must never be taken.
Daily limit
5 kg of fish per angler per day (chebak, chebachek, pike-perch, sazan, carp, barbel, pike, catfish, marinka, silver carp, grass carp, crucian carp, perch, rudd, bream, tench, roach); a single fish exceeding the limit is not a violation (point 14). Removal from the water body limited to a two-day norm (point 15).
Minimum sizes
- Crucian carp (карась)min 18 cm
- Tench (линь)min 18 cm
- Bream (лещ)min 20 cm
- Chebak / Issyk-Kul dace (чебак)min 17 cm
- Catfish (сом)min 40 cm
- Lake marinka (маринка озерная)min 25 cm
- River marinka (маринка речная)min 18 cm
- Chebachek (чебачек)min 10 cm
- River osman (осман речной)min 15 cm
- Rudd (красноперка)min 10 cm
- Sazan / wild carp (сазан)min 20 cm
- Carp (карп)min 20 cm
- Roach (плотва)min 12 cm
- Barbel (усач)min 25 cm
- Pike (щука)min 20 cm
- Amu Darya (river) trout (амударьинская/речная форель)min 20 cm
Protected species — do not take
- ProtectedIssyk-Kul trout (иссык-кульская форель)
- ProtectedIssyk-Kul bare osman (иссык-кульский голый осман)
- ProtectedPike-asp / Aspiolucius (щуковидный жерех-лысач)
- ProtectedTurkestan barbel (туркестанский усач)
- ProtectedWhitefish / Coregonus (сиг)
- ProtectedPeled (пелядь)
Undersized fish and crayfish, and any banned species, must be released alive (footnote to point 18). Crayfish under 10 cm and egg-bearing females may not be taken. Valuable limited species (river trout, river osman) are catch-limited per fishing card (points 4, 7, 15).
Who may fish
Visitors & residents
How the rules differ for foreign visitors and local residents.
Foreign visitors
The retrieved Rules do not distinguish foreigners from residents; amateur/sport fishing rules apply to 'граждане' (citizens/persons) generally and require the same paid ticket/permit. No foreigner-specific spearfishing provision was found in official sources; tourist guides indicate foreigners fish under the same permit system. Treat as unknown pending the post-2025 replacement rules.
Residents
Paid fishing ticket/card or путёвка (same as for all amateur anglers)
Requirements
- Hold valid fishing documents (билет, путёвка, рыболовная карточка) and present them on demand to fisheries inspectors (point 8).
- Comply with the regime of the visited water body, size limits, closed seasons and zone restrictions.
The Rules do not establish a separate resident category; the same permit regime applies to all persons engaged in amateur/sport fishing.
Where on the coast
Allowed & prohibited zones
Named areas that are open to or closed for spearfishing. See the full picture on the interactive map.
Allowed areas
Amateur and sport fishing, including spearguns outside public recreation zones, is permitted on Lake Issyk-Kul under permit, subject to spawning closures and the all-year ban on sites No. 15 and No. 39. Issyk-Kul trout and Issyk-Kul bare osman may never be taken.
Paid fishing ticket/permit required; spawning closures (point 17); protected species may not be taken (point 18); sites No. 15 and No. 39 closed all year; site No. 11 closed to watercraft 1 Nov-31 Dec.
Amateur and sport fishing with spearguns is permitted on water bodies and rivers generally, except state nature reserves and aquaculture/commercial-fishing/reproduction zones (point 2), outside public recreation zones (point 9), under permit/ticket.
Paid ticket/permit (points 4-5); general spawning closure 1 May-1 Jun (point 17(2)); no night fishing from watercraft 22:00-05:00 (point 16(6)); minimum sizes (point 18).
Prohibited areas
The Rules do not apply to water areas of state nature reserves and water areas assigned for commercial fish-breeding, commercial fishing and reproduction of fish stocks; amateur/sport fishing is excluded there (point 2).
- Lake Issyk-Kul, fishing sites No. 15 and No. 39year-round closed fishing area
Amateur and sport fishing prohibited the entire year (point 16(11)).
- River mouths, dams, sluices and bridges (buffer zones)buffer/protection zone
Banned within 100 m either side of and into the water body at river/canal mouths, 150 m upstream, and 150 m either side of dams, sluices and bridges (point 16(2)); also in melioration/sluice canals (point 16(3)) and at fish concentration sites, migration paths and spawning grounds (point 16(4)).
Conditions on the water
Live conditions
Live marine and weather snapshot near a coastal reference point in Kyrgyzstan, from Open-Meteo. Conditions vary along the coast — treat as indicative.
Live marine & weather near Lake Issyk-Kul (open sites).
Who to ask
Authorities
The official bodies responsible for fisheries and licensing.
Department of Fisheries Complex (Департамент рыбного хозяйства / рыбопромышленного комплекса)
fisheries authority
mnr.gov.kgUnder the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Processing Industry; announces annual spawning closuresMinistry of Natural Resources, Ecology and Technical Supervision of the Kyrgyz Republic
environment ministry
mnr.gov.kgPublishes fishing-prohibition (nerestovy zapret) notices; oversees fish-stock protectionCentralized Bank of Legal Information, Ministry of Justice of the Kyrgyz Republic
legislation portal
cbd.minjust.gov.kgOfficial source of legislation text
Where this comes from
Sources
Every claim on this page traces back to one of these references.
- [01]
Правила любительского и спортивного рыболовства в водоемах Кыргызской Республики (Decree No. 410 of 24 June 2015), current published edition 25.04.2025 - CBD Ministry of Justice
Officialcbd.minjust.gov.kgAccessed Jun 15 - [02]
Full document JSON for Decree No. 410 / Amateur Fishing Rules via Ministry of Justice OpenData API (GetDocument.json?Code=97696)
Officialcbd.minjust.gov.kgAccessed Jun 15 - [03]
Law of the Kyrgyz Republic No. 35 of 17 March 2021 'On aquaculture, fisheries and protection of aquatic biological resources' (amendments as of 31.07.2025)
Secondarycontinent-online.comAccessed Jun 15 - [04]
Ministry of Natural Resources: amateur and sport fishing prohibited during spawning in 2025 (official notice, 17 April 2025)
Officialmnr.gov.kgAccessed Jun 15 - [05]
Закон КР № 39 от 25 июня 1997 'О рыбном хозяйстве' (repealed) - CBD OpenData metadata
Officialcbd.minjust.gov.kgAccessed Jun 15 - [06]
Fishing in Kyrgyzstan - tourist guide (locations, permits, MegaPay e-permits)
Secondaryilovekg.comAccessed Jun 15 - [07]
В Кыргызстане введен временный запрет на любительскую рыбалку в период нереста (news.kg, Apr 2025)
Secondarynews.kgAccessed Jun 15
Researcher notes
Kyrgyzstan is landlocked (no sea coast); all spearfishing is freshwater (Lake Issyk-Kul, Son-Kul, Toktogul and other reservoirs, and rivers such as Naryn, Chu). Spearfishing (подводная охота) with spearguns is explicitly LEGAL but RESTRICTED for amateur/sport fishing: permitted only outside public recreation zones (point 9) and expressly excepted from the firearms/pneumatic-weapons ban (point 16(1)); a paid fishing ticket/permit is required, spawning closures apply, certain Issyk-Kul sites are closed, and six species (Issyk-Kul trout, Issyk-Kul bare osman, pike-asp, Turkestan barbel, whitefish, peled) are permanently protected. IMPORTANT CURRENCY CAVEAT: the verbatim provisions captured here are from the last published edition (25.04.2025) of the 2015 Rules, which were repealed by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 237 of 25 April 2025 as part of a 2025 fisheries-law overhaul (the 1997 Fisheries Law and 2015 decree were both repealed; the umbrella law is now Law No. 35 of 2021). The post-April-2025 replacement Rules could not be retrieved from the Ministry of Justice CBD at research time because the portal renders only via a JavaScript SPA / OpenData API; the verbatim text was obtained through the official OpenData API (GetDocument.json?Code=97696). Cost/validity of permits and explicit foreigner rules were not found in official text and are marked unknown. Data confidence: medium - legal text is verbatim from the official source, but it reflects a just-repealed edition and the live replacement was not confirmed. License cost, foreigner-specific rules and exact coordinates of recreation/closed zones should be re-verified against the current (post-237/2025) Rules.
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