Cambodia
Asia · South-Eastern Asia
Cambodia has no statute that names recreational spearfishing as a distinct activity. Under the Law on Fisheries (NS/RKM/0506/011, 2006), simple spears are treated as small-scale / family-scale (subsistence) fishing gear and are not banned per se: Article 20(4) and the law's definitions only prohibit a 'spear in combination with projected light' (i.e. spearfishing with an attracting lamp, typically at night). MAFF Proclamation No. 319 (2015) expressly lists the 'Multi-pronged barbed spear' and the 'One-pronged barbless spear' among the family-scale fishing gears PERMITTED in the marine fishery domain. So daytime spearfishing with a bare spear/speargun is broadly tolerated as subsistence fishing, but: (a) all non-subsistence marine fishing requires a licence (Art. 45); (b) all fishing is prohibited inside fishery conservation areas (Art. 19) and in the no-take/conservation zones of the Koh Rong Marine Fisheries Management Area / Koh Rong National Marine Park; (c) night spearfishing with a light is illegal and carries penalties (Art. 101 point 10); and (d) fishery exploitation by foreigners requires an agreement with MAFF plus Royal Government approval (Art. 38). In practice the activity is a legal grey area for tourists, enforcement is inconsistent, and gear confiscation by local authorities/community-fishery patrols has been reported around Koh Rong.
Last updated June 14, 2026
Governing framework
- §Law on Fisheries, NS/RKM/0506/011 (Preah Reach Kram), promulgated 21 May 2006
- §MAFF Proclamation (Prakas) No. 319 on the types of fishing gear permitted to use in the marine fishery domain of the Kingdom of Cambodia (2015)
- §Royal Decree on the establishment of the Koh Rong National Marine Park (2018) and the Koh Rong Marine Fisheries Management Area (2016)
- 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.
Prohibited fishing gear and methods in the fishery domain
Law on Fisheries, NS/RKM/0506/011 (2006)
Article 20. All kind of fishing activities in the fishery domain by using the following gears shall be absolutely prohibited: 1- Electrocuting devices, explosive stuff, or all kind of poisons. 2- All means of pumping, bailing, drying any part of fishery domain, which cause disaster to the fishery resources. 3- Brush park, Samras or other devices to attract fish and other aquatic animals. 4- Spear fishing gears, Chhbok, Sang, Snor with projected lamp. 5- Fixed net or all kind of boa nets. 6- Net or all kind of seine with mesh size of less than 1.5 centimeters in inland fishery domain. 7- All kind of net with mesh size bigger than 15 centimeters in inland fishery domain. 8- Pair trawler or encircling net with attractive illuminated lamp for fish concentration. 9- Fishing gears made of mosquito net in inland fisheries. 10- All kind of trawling in the freshwater, and mechanized push net ( Chhip Yun). 11- All kind of bamboo fence with mesh size of less than 1.5 centimeters. 12- All kind of transversal string and any measure which make fish escape. 13- Dam with all kind of fishing gears. 14- All kind of modern fishing gears; newly invented fishing gears or fishing practices leading to the destruction of fish, fishery resources and fishery ecosystem, or which are not listed in the proclamation of the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
Definition of Prohibited Fishing Gears (spear only with projected light)
Law on Fisheries, NS/RKM/0506/011 (2006)
Prohibited Fishing Gears: refer to all kinds of fishing gears which cause serious damages to the fishery resources. Prohibited fishing gears include inter alia electrocute fishing gears, poisonous chemicals, explosives, pumping dry gears, spear in combination with projected light, gillnet or seine net with mesh size smaller than 1.5 cm, mosquito net, pair trawling nets, encircling net with light etc.
Penalty for spear fishing with a projected lamp (fishery offence class 3)
Law on Fisheries, NS/RKM/0506/011 (2006)
10. Fishing by using Chbok, Sang, Snor or Spear fishing gears associated with projected lamp. [...] Whoever committing fishery offences class 3 in point 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 at nighttime shall be penalized under fishery offences class 2 in the article 99 of this law. Whoever committing fishery offences class 3 from twice onward shall be penalized under fishery offences class 2 in the article 99 of this law.
Subsistence fishing rights and license requirement by fishing scale
Law on Fisheries, NS/RKM/0506/011 (2006)
Article 31. Subsistence fishing shall be operated at anytime in the open access area and in the family-scale fishing areas, in freshwater fishing lots during the closed season or in marine fishery domains by using small-scale fishing gears. Middle-scale fishing shall be operated only in the open access area of the inland or marine fishery domains by using middle-scale fishing gears. Industrial fishing shall be operated only in fishing lots of the inland or marine fishery domains by using large-scale fishing gears.
License requirement for marine fishery exploitation
Law on Fisheries, NS/RKM/0506/011 (2006)
Article 45. All types of fishery exploitations in the marine fishery domain, except subsistence fishing, shall be allowed only in the possession of license and these exploitations shall follow the conditions and obligation in fishing logbook. The model of the fishing logbook shall be determined by the proclamation of the Minister of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries.
Prohibition of fishing in fishery conservation areas
Law on Fisheries, NS/RKM/0506/011 (2006)
Article 19. The following shall be prohibited: 1- Any fishing activities in the fishery conservation areas except for special permission from the Minister of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries to the Fisheries Administration to conduct the fishery scientific, technical research and experiment. 2- By pass navigations or any activities in the fisheries conservation areas except competent officers in case of law enforcement. 3- New settlement of less than 2 km from the boundaries of fishery conservation areas except for Fisheries Administration resident which is used for law enforcement purposes.
Fishery exploitation by foreigners requires MAFF agreement and government approval
Law on Fisheries, NS/RKM/0506/011 (2006)
Article 38. Fishing exploitation or aquaculture of foreigners must be under the agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries after obtaining the approval from the Royal Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia.
Spears listed as permitted family-scale fishing gear in the marine fishery domain
MAFF Proclamation (Prakas) No. 319 on the types of fishing gear permitted to use in the marine fishery domain (2015)
Article 1. This proclamation is to identify the type of family-scale fishing gear, medium-scale fishing gear, and industrial-scale fishing gear permitted to use in marine fishery domain of Kingdom of Cambodia. [...] 1. Family-Scale Fishing Gear [...] 25. Multi-pronged barbed spear [...] 27. One-pronged barbless spear [...]
When you can dive
Seasons & time restrictions
Closed, open and restricted periods across the year. Always confirm species-specific closures locally.
- ClosedMiddle-scale and industrial (commercial) fishing; subsistence/family-scale fishing (incl. simple spears) is exempt and allowed year-roundJun 1 – Sep 30
Cambodia operates a fisheries closed season for commercial gear (broadly the wet-season spawning period, June-September; exact dates set by MAFF proclamation and differing inland vs marine). Article 31 of the Law on Fisheries permits subsistence fishing 'at anytime' including in marine fishery domains using small-scale gear, so daytime hand-spearing as subsistence fishing is not bound by the commercial closed season. Closed-season dates should be confirmed annually with the Fisheries Administration.
Permission to fish
License
What you need to be allowed in the water, what it costs, and how to get it.
Licences and the authority responsible for issuing them are set by MAFF proclamation (Art. 70-71). Recreational anglers fishing with rod and line in public waters reportedly do not need a state permit; spearfishing falls into a grey area best confirmed directly with the Fisheries Administration.
Get your licenseOpens the official portal · data.opendevelopmentcambodia.net
- Type
- No specific recreational spearfishing or recreational sea-fishing licence exists. Subsistence fishing with small-scale gear needs no licence (Art. 31); all non-subsistence (middle/industrial) marine fishing requires a fishing licence and logbook (Art. 45).
- Cost
- unknown
- Validity
- unknown
- How to obtain
- Licences and the authority responsible for issuing them are set by MAFF proclamation (Art. 70-71). Recreational anglers fishing with rod and line in public waters reportedly do not need a state permit; spearfishing falls into a grey area best confirmed directly with the Fisheries Administration.
- Authority
- Fisheries Administration (FiA), Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF)
Gear & technique
Equipment rules
What gear is permitted, how it may be used, and the conditions attached.
Restrictions
- Spears must not be used with a projected lamp/light (i.e. no light-assisted or night spearfishing) - Law on Fisheries Art. 20(4) and definitions; violation is a fishery offence (Art. 101 point 10), escalated if committed at night.
- Permitted family-scale spear types in the marine domain are the 'Multi-pronged barbed spear' and the 'One-pronged barbless spear' (MAFF Proclamation No. 319).
- Electrocuting devices, explosives and poisons are absolutely prohibited as fishing methods (Art. 20(1)).
- No use of any gear inside fishery conservation / no-take zones (Art. 19).
The law regulates spears as fishing gear rather than addressing modern recreational spearguns explicitly. A bare/daytime spear or speargun used as small-scale subsistence gear is not prohibited; the prohibited combination is 'spear + projected light'. SCUBA use for spearfishing is not specifically addressed in the national statute.
What you may take
Catch limits & protected species
Daily quotas, minimum sizes, and species that must never be taken.
Daily limit
unknown
Protected species — do not take
- ProtectedEndangered fishery resources (transport/processing/trade only under permission - Art. 23)
- ProtectedIrrawaddy dolphin and other protected aquatic mammals (protected under Cambodian conservation law; killing/harming prohibited)
The Law on Fisheries does not publish recreational daily bag limits or species minimum sizes in its main text; fingerling/aquatic-animal sizes are set by MAFF proclamation (Art. 23). No species-specific spearfishing size limits were retrievable from official sources.
Who may fish
Visitors & residents
How the rules differ for foreign visitors and local residents.
Foreign visitors
Special license required
Requirements
- Fishery exploitation or aquaculture by foreigners must be under an agreement with MAFF after obtaining approval from the Royal Government of Cambodia (Art. 38).
- Foreign fishing vessels permitted in the marine fishery domain must inform the Fisheries Administration prior to port calls (Art. 47).
Restrictions
- Use of a foreign vessel for fishing operations and several related acts are penalized fishery offences (Art. 99-101 area).
- In practice, tourist spearfishing around Koh Rong is a legal grey area; locals report gear confiscation and possible fines.
The Article 38 foreigner regime is framed around commercial 'fishing exploitation/aquaculture'. There is no clear, published carve-out for foreign tourists doing casual spearfishing, which leaves it legally ambiguous and dependent on local enforcement.
Residents
Subsistence / family-scale fishing (no licence required for small-scale gear, Art. 31)
Requirements
- Use only small-scale (family-scale) gear such as the permitted spears (Proclamation No. 319).
- No projected lamp with spears; stay outside conservation/no-take zones; respect technical regulations of the Fisheries Administration (Art. 44).
Benefits
- Subsistence fishing is open-access and allowed year-round, including in marine fishery domains (Art. 31).
- Members of community fisheries may fish in designated community-fishery zones under community rules.
Cambodian citizens engaging in genuine subsistence hand-spearing in open-access marine waters operate within the law; commercial-scale spearfishing would require licensing.
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
Under Article 31, subsistence fishing with small-scale gear (including the spears permitted by Proclamation No. 319) may be carried out at any time in the marine fishery domain, provided it is outside fishery conservation areas and no-take zones and does not use a projected lamp. The inshore fishing area extends from the high-tide coastline to the 20 m depth line (Article 11).
Daytime only (no projected lamp/light); subsistence/family-scale gear only; non-subsistence use requires a license (Art. 45); must stay outside all conservation/no-take zones; foreigners require MAFF agreement and government approval (Art. 38).
Prohibited areas
- Fishery conservation areas (national category, Law on Fisheries Art. 18-19)fishery conservation area / marine reserve
Rapids, deep pools, the Tonle Sap Great Lake protected areas, inundated forests, island groups, sea-grass areas, coral-reef areas and mangrove forests classified as Protected and Conservation Areas of Fishery Resources. All fishing activities are prohibited except scientific research with special MAFF permission.
- Koh Rong Marine Fisheries Management Area (MFMA) and Koh Rong National Marine Parkmarine fisheries management area / national marine park
Cambodia's first Marine Fisheries Management Area (405 km2, approved by MAFF on 16 June 2016) around Koh Rong and Koh Rong Sanloem, later overlapped by the Koh Rong National Marine Park (established Feb 2018, ~524 km2, managed by the Ministry of Environment). The MFMA is zoned into mixed-use, conservation, recreation and community-fishery zones; conservation/no-take zones ban all fishing, and trawling is banned throughout. Spearfishing is reported by local operators as not permitted within the managed/conservation zones, with gear confiscation by community-fishery patrols.
- Koh Ach Seh and Koh Angkrong core conservation zones (Koh Sdach archipelago / MFMA)no-take conservation zone
Strict no-take research/conservation zones where fishing, anchoring and tourism are prohibited; only scientific research is permitted. Associated with Marine Conservation Cambodia's managed areas. A refuge area near Koh Po has fishing prohibited during specific times of the year.
Conditions on the water
Live conditions
Live marine and weather snapshot near a coastal reference point in Cambodia, from Open-Meteo. Conditions vary along the coast — treat as indicative.
Live marine & weather near Koh Rong Marine Fisheries Management Area (MFMA) and Koh Rong National Marine Park.
Who to ask
Authorities
The official bodies responsible for fisheries and licensing.
Fisheries Administration (FiA)
fisheries authority
fia.maff.gov.khMinistry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), #200, Preah Norodom Blvd, Phnom Penh, CambodiaMinistry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF)
agriculture and fisheries ministry
maff.gov.khPhnom Penh, CambodiaMinistry of Environment (manages Koh Rong National Marine Park)
environment ministry
moe.gov.khPhnom Penh, Cambodia
Where this comes from
Sources
Every claim on this page traces back to one of these references.
- [01]
Law on Fisheries NS/RKM/0506/011 (2006) - full English text PDF (Fisheries Administration / ADB-FAO unofficial translation)
Officialdata.opendevelopmentcambodia.netAccessed Jun 14 - [02]
MAFF Proclamation No. 319 - types of fishing gear permitted in the marine fishery domain (FAOLEX)
Officialfaolex.fao.orgAccessed Jun 14 - [03]
Law on Fishery record (OD Mekong Datahub / Open Development Cambodia)
Officialdata.opendevelopmentcambodia.netAccessed Jun 14 - [04]
Fishing policy and administration - Open Development Cambodia
Secondaryopendevelopmentcambodia.netAccessed Jun 14 - [05]
Marine and coastal areas - Open Development Cambodia
Secondaryopendevelopmentcambodia.netAccessed Jun 14 - [06]
Koh Rong National Marine Park: A first for Cambodia - IUCN
Secondaryiucn.orgAccessed Jun 14 - [07]
Cambodia creates its first marine national park - Mongabay
Secondarynews.mongabay.comAccessed Jun 14 - [08]
Cambodian Spearfishing discussion (enforcement/grey-area reality)
communityforums.deeperblue.comAccessed Jun 14
Researcher notes
Confidence is medium. The national legal position rests on a high-quality official primary source (full English text of the Law on Fisheries 2006) plus the official MAFF Proclamation No. 319 gear annex (FAOLEX). These together establish that simple spears are lawful small-scale/subsistence gear and that only 'spear + projected light' is prohibited. There is NO Cambodian law that explicitly regulates modern recreational spearfishing/spearguns as a sport, so several recreational specifics (bag limits, size limits, recreational licence cost, SCUBA-spearfishing rules) are genuinely undefined and are marked unknown/null rather than guessed. Marine no-take zones (Koh Rong MFMA / National Marine Park; Koh Ach Seh, Koh Angkrong, Koh Po core zones) ban all fishing; precise zone boundaries/coordinates were not available from official sources, so only an approximate centroid for the Koh Rong archipelago is given. On the ground, spearfishing around Koh Rong is widely described as a legal grey area with inconsistent enforcement and reported gear confiscation; treat the official allowance with caution and confirm current rules with the Fisheries Administration before spearfishing as a foreigner. Closed-season dates are indicative; confirm annually with MAFF. The English law text is an unofficial ADB/FAO translation (original Khmer prevails).
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