Paraguay
Americas · South America
Paraguay is a landlocked country, so all spearfishing would be freshwater (rivers, lakes, lagoons, reservoirs). National law (Ley Nº 3.556/08 de Pesca y Acuicultura) does not specifically name spearfishing (pesca subacuática/submarina), but it strictly defines the only permitted gear for recreational ('sport') fishing as hooks and lines or a rod with/without reel ('anzuelos y liñadas o caña con o sin reel'). Spearguns/harpoons are therefore not among the authorised sport-fishing methods, and the law generally prohibits non-selective and destructive fishing arts. Commercial sale of catch is forbidden under a sport licence. In practice recreational spearfishing is not a recognised or permitted modality in Paraguay. An annual, non-transferable fishing licence issued by MADES is mandatory for any sport fishing, and a nationwide closed season (veda) suspends all sport and commercial fishing for several weeks each year (typically early November to late December/January).
Last updated November 2, 2025
Governing framework
- §Ley Nº 3.556/2008 ‘De Pesca y Acuicultura’ (7 August 2008)
- §Resolución MADES Nº 463/2024 (veda pesquera 2024–2025)
- §Resolución MADES Nº 523/2025 (veda pesquera 2025–2026)
- License required
- Required
- Speargun
- Prohibited
- Foreigners
- Welcome
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.
Definición de pesca deportiva
Ley Nº 3.556/2008 De Pesca y Acuicultura
La pesca deportiva, será considerada a la actividad pesquera que se realiza con fines de recreación, competición y turístico, y sin fines de lucro
Prohibiciones - artes y métodos de pesca prohibidos
Ley Nº 3.556/2008 De Pesca y Acuicultura
Queda prohibido: ocupar con redes más de la mitad del ancho del cauce principal del río; el uso de trasmallo y espineles flotantes (pato o peine); el uso de ecosonda para la pesca comercial; la construcción o utilización de barreras, empalizadas, muros, estacadas, redes tubo; el empleo de sustancias tóxicas, descargas eléctricas; la utilización de explosivos o de gas con fines de pesca; utilizar aparatos auxiliares de luz artificial con fines de pesca; utilizar hilo de monofilamento para la confección de las redes de pesca; utilizar malla, mallón u otros tipos de redes en todos los riachos, arroyos, lagos.
Otorgamiento de licencias y canon
Ley Nº 3.556/2008 De Pesca y Acuicultura
El otorgamiento de licencias, concesiones y permisos estará sujeto al cumplimiento de los requisitos […] al pago de un canon según la modalidad de pesca […] El canon máximo que podrá establecerse para cada modalidad de pesca será de hasta 20 (veinte) jornales mínimos.
Artes de pesca permitidas para la pesca deportiva
MADES - Dirección de Pesca y Acuicultura (reglamentación de la pesca deportiva, Ley 3.556/08)
Las artes de pesca serán el uso de anzuelos y liñadas o caña con o sin reel.
When you can dive
Seasons & time restrictions
Closed, open and restricted periods across the year. Always confirm species-specific closures locally.
- ClosedAll sport and commercial fishing in national and shared waters (Río Paraná, Río Paraguay, Río Pilcomayo, Río Apa and other water bodies under national jurisdiction)Nov 2 – Jan 31
Veda pesquera 2025-2026 (Resolución MADES Nº 523/2025). Prohibits sport and commercial fishing, use of fishing gear, and transport/commercialisation of fishery products. Internal waters and waters shared with Argentina: 2 Nov 2025 - 20 Dec 2025; waters shared with Brazil: 2 Nov 2025 - 31 Jan 2026.
- ClosedAll sport and commercial fishing in national and shared watersNov 4 – Jan 31
Veda pesquera 2024-2025 (Resolución MADES Nº 463/2024). Suspended both commercial and sport fishing. Waters shared with Argentina ended 20 Dec 2024; waters shared with Brazil ended 31 Jan 2025.
Permission to fish
License
What you need to be allowed in the water, what it costs, and how to get it.
Obtained from MADES - Dirección de Pesca y Acuicultura, Avenida Madame Lynch Nº 3500, Asunción, or regional offices (Pilar, Ayolas, Ciudad del Este, Encarnación, San Juan, Concepción).
Get your licenseOpens the official portal · mades.gov.py
- Type
- Licencia de pesca deportiva (annual, non-transferable)
- Cost
- G. 162,504 (Guaraní); legal maximum canon up to 20 minimum daily wages (jornales mínimos)
- Validity
- 1 year
- How to obtain
- Obtained from MADES - Dirección de Pesca y Acuicultura, Avenida Madame Lynch Nº 3500, Asunción, or regional offices (Pilar, Ayolas, Ciudad del Este, Encarnación, San Juan, Concepción).
- Authority
- Ministerio del Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible (MADES) - Dirección de Pesca y Acuicultura
Gear & technique
Equipment rules
What gear is permitted, how it may be used, and the conditions attached.
Restrictions
- Only permitted sport-fishing gear is hooks and lines or a rod with/without reel ('anzuelos y liñadas o caña con o sin reel') - spearguns/harpoons are not an authorised method
- Prohibited: toxic substances, electric discharges, explosives or gas (Art. 36, Ley 3.556/08)
- Prohibited: monofilament-thread nets, trasmallo, floating espineles, light-attraction devices, river-barrier structures (Art. 36)
The national law does not explicitly name spearfishing (pesca subacuática/submarina). Because recreational fishing is restricted by regulation to hook-and-line/rod gear, spear/harpoon underwater fishing falls outside the permitted recreational modality and is effectively not allowed.
What you may take
Catch limits & protected species
Daily quotas, minimum sizes, and species that must never be taken.
Daily limit
unknown
Minimum sizes
- Dorado (Salminus brasiliensis)min 75 cm
- Surubí (pintado)min 85 cm
- Surubí atigradomin 80 cm
- Manguruyúmin 100 cm
- Patímin 70 cm
- Pacúmin 45 cm
Minimum total-length sizes reported in Paraguay fishing regulations summaries (secondary source). Commercial sale of fish caught under a sport licence is prohibited; catch may be released or kept for personal consumption only.
Who may fish
Visitors & residents
How the rules differ for foreign visitors and local residents.
Foreign visitors
AllowedSpecial license required
Requirements
- Must hold a valid sport fishing licence (licencia de pesca deportiva) issued by MADES
- Must comply with closed-season (veda) periods, permitted gear, and minimum size limits
Restrictions
- Same gear restrictions apply: only hook-and-line/rod permitted; spearguns/harpoons not authorised
No public source indicates a separate foreigner-specific spearfishing regime; tourism is an explicit purpose of the sport fishing licence. Marine/coastal spearfishing is not applicable (landlocked country).
Residents
Licencia de pesca deportiva (same regime as for all sport anglers); subsistence fishing for riverside dwellers (pobladores ribereños) is treated separately under Ley 3.556/08
Requirements
- Annual MADES sport fishing licence for recreational fishing
Subsistence fishing by riverside communities is permitted under specific conditions distinct from recreational sport fishing; it is not spearfishing-specific.
Who to ask
Authorities
The official bodies responsible for fisheries and licensing.
Ministerio del Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible (MADES) - Dirección de Pesca y Acuicultura
environment ministry / fisheries authority
mades.gov.pyAvenida Madame Lynch Nº 3500, Asunción, ParaguayMinisterio de Agricultura y Ganadería (MAG) - Viceministerio de Ganadería
agriculture/livestock ministry (co-application authority under Ley 3.556/08)
Servicio Nacional de Calidad y Salud Animal (SENACSA)
animal quality and health service (co-application authority)
Where this comes from
Sources
Every claim on this page traces back to one of these references.
- [01]
Ley Nº 3556 De Pesca y Acuicultura - full text (Justia Paraguay)
Secondaryparaguay.justia.comAccessed Jun 15 - [02]
Ley Nº 3556 / DE PESCA Y ACUICULTURA - BACN (official legislation portal)
Officialbacn.gov.pyAccessed Jun 15 - [03]
MADES - Licencia de pesca es documento esencial (permitted gear, license cost)
Officialmades.gov.pyAccessed Jun 15 - [04]
MADES - Trámites: Pesca Deportiva
Officialmades.gov.pyAccessed Jun 15 - [05]
MADES - Veda pesquera 2024-2025 (Resolución Nº 463/2024)
Officialmades.gov.pyAccessed Jun 15 - [06]
Veda Pesquera 2025-2026 - Resolución Nº 523/2025 (RCC, secondary)
Secondaryrcc.com.pyAccessed Jun 15 - [07]
Reglamento de pesca en Paraguay 2025: veda, tallas (PescaPro Paraguay, secondary)
Secondarypescaproparaguay.comAccessed Jun 15
Researcher notes
Paraguay is landlocked (no marine coastline); only inland/freshwater fishing exists. National fisheries law (Ley Nº 3.556/2008) does NOT explicitly mention spearfishing, harpoons or pneumatic spearguns ('arpón'/'fusil'/'pesca subacuática'). The conclusion that recreational spearfishing is not permitted is inferred from the MADES regulation that restricts sport-fishing gear to hooks and lines or rod ('anzuelos y liñadas o caña con o sin reel') plus Art. 36 prohibitions on non-selective/destructive methods. No source explicitly authorises or explicitly bans underwater spearfishing by name. The BACN official law page returned HTTP 403 on automated fetch; verbatim article text was therefore captured from the Justia Paraguay reproduction of the same law and cross-checked against MADES summaries. No designated spearfishing zones exist; zones left empty. Daily catch limit not published in consulted sources. Confidence is medium: the legal framework and gear/license/season facts are well sourced, but the spearfishing-specific status is interpretive (absence of explicit provision) rather than a named prohibition.
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