Suriname
Americas · South America
No spearfishing-specific (underwater fishing / harpoon) legislation could be located for Suriname. The country's Atlantic coast is extremely turbid (Amazon-influenced mud plume) with near-zero underwater visibility, there is no developed dive or spearfishing industry, and no registered marine dive sites. Fisheries are governed by a commercial-oriented framework (Sea Fisheries Act 1980, amended 2017; Fish Stock Protection Act/Decree 1961; Coastal Fisheries Decree 1981) under which fishing is only permitted with a valid licence issued by the LVV Fisheries Department (Visserijdienst); these instruments target commercial vessels and do not explicitly address recreational spearfishing. Freshwater sport fishing is traditionally informal (free or for a small fee). Fishing of any kind in nature reserves is prohibited without written permission under the Nature Protection Act 1954 (Art. 5), and sea turtles and marine mammals are protected under the Game Act. Because no source explicitly permits or prohibits recreational spearfishing, legality is marked unknown; divers should treat coastal protected areas as no-fishing zones and confirm requirements with the LVV Fisheries Department before any underwater fishing.
Last updated June 16, 2026
Governing framework
- §Sea Fisheries Act 1980 (Decree of 31 December 1980 laying down regulations in the field of sea fishing; amended by Act of 7 April 2017 on the Maritime Zones of the Republic of Suriname)
- §Fish Stock Protection Act 1961 and Fish Stock Protection Decree 1961 (G.B. No. 44)
- §Coastal Fisheries Decree 1981
- §Nature Protection Act 1954 (Natuurbeschermingswet)
- §Game Act (Jachtwet) / Nature Conservation legislation
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 activities in nature reserves (incl. fishing) without written permission
Nature Protection Act 1954 (Natuurbeschermingswet)
It is forbidden to undertake any kind of activity in a nature reserve which will affect the integrity of the reserves in a detrimental way. It is also prohibited to camp, make fire, cut wood or make charcoal, and to hunt or fish, unless written permission for this has been obtained from the Head of the Suriname Forest Service, and then only on the conditions stipulated in the permit.
When you can dive
Seasons & time restrictions
Closed, open and restricted periods across the year. Always confirm species-specific closures locally.
No seasonal closures recorded — verify locally before diving.
Permission to fish
License
What you need to be allowed in the water, what it costs, and how to get it.
The only documented licence regime is for commercial fishing: each fishing vessel must operate under a valid annual licence (specifying gear, vessel size, engine power, fishing zone and target species) issued by the LVV Fisheries Department (Visserijdienst) under the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (Ministerie van LVV). No evidence was found that recreational underwater fishing/spearfishing requires this licence. Recreational freshwater fishing is traditionally informal (free or for a small fee); no formal recreational/spearfishing licence procedure was located, so the requirement for recreational spearfishing is unknown.
Get your licenseOpens the official portal · discover-suriname.com
- Type
- Commercial fishing-vessel licence only; no recreational/sport-fishing or spearfishing licence requirement was located
- Cost
- unknown
- Validity
- Annual (commercial fishing-vessel licences must be renewed each year)
- How to obtain
- The only documented licence regime is for commercial fishing: each fishing vessel must operate under a valid annual licence (specifying gear, vessel size, engine power, fishing zone and target species) issued by the LVV Fisheries Department (Visserijdienst) under the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (Ministerie van LVV). No evidence was found that recreational underwater fishing/spearfishing requires this licence. Recreational freshwater fishing is traditionally informal (free or for a small fee); no formal recreational/spearfishing licence procedure was located, so the requirement for recreational spearfishing is unknown.
- Authority
- Visserijdienst (Fisheries Department), Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (LVV)
Gear & technique
Equipment rules
What gear is permitted, how it may be used, and the conditions attached.
No regulations specific to spearguns, harpoons or the use of SCUBA while fishing were located. Sea Fisheries Act licence conditions specify gear specifications, but published sources address commercial gear (e.g. trawl/shrimp fisheries), not recreational underwater fishing equipment.
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
- ProtectedAll sea turtle species (protected under the Game Act; Galibi, Wia Wia and Coppename Monding reserves protect nesting grounds)
- ProtectedMarine mammals (protected under the Game Act)
- ProtectedAll mammal and bird species designated as wild species in Suriname (Game Act)
Sea Fisheries Act licence conditions can set minimum landing sizes and allowable bycatch for commercial fisheries, but no recreational/spearfishing-specific catch or size limits were located. Per a non-verbatim paraphrase of the Game Act (Jachtwet 1954, Art. 2) reported by The Outlaw Ocean Project, capture, killing or possession of protected animals (all mammals, birds and sea turtles, plus species designated by State Decree) is prohibited; the exact verbatim statutory wording could not be verified from a primary source, so this is a summary, not a quote.
Who may fish
Visitors & residents
How the rules differ for foreign visitors and local residents.
Foreign visitors
No rules specific to foreign recreational anglers or spearfishers were located. General fishing requires a valid licence, and fishing within nature reserves requires written permission from the Head of the Suriname Forest Service.
Residents
unknown
Residents traditionally engage in freshwater sport fishing as a hobby, for free or for a small fee. No formal resident recreational/spearfishing licence regime was located.
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.
Prohibited areas
- Bigi Pan Multiple Use Management Area (MUMA)multiple use management area / coastal wetland (permit-regulated, not an outright no-fishing zone)
Coastal wetland/mangrove protected area (IUCN category VI) in NW Suriname between the Atlantic Ocean and the Nickerie River, established 1987. As a multiple-use area it permits regulated fishing and recreation under permit rather than imposing an outright ban; listed here as restricted because any fishing is subject to permit and to the protections of the Nature Protection Act 1954. Coordinates are from a geolocation source (BirdLife), not a legal instrument.
- Coppename Monding Nature Reservemarine/coastal nature reserve (Ramsar site)
Coastal/marine nature reserve at the mouth of the Coppename River (Saramacca District), established 1961; Ramsar Wetland of International Importance (site #304, listed 22 July 1985). Legal basis for the no-fishing designation: Nature Protection Act 1954, Art. 5 (fishing prohibited without written permission of the Head of the Suriname Forest Service). Coordinates and reserve status are from a geolocation source (Wikipedia), not a legal instrument.
- Wia Wia Nature Reservemarine/coastal nature reserve
Coastal nature reserve on the Atlantic coast near the Marowijne River, established 1966 (approx. 360 km2); a sea turtle nesting area. Legal basis for the no-fishing designation: Nature Protection Act 1954, Art. 5 (fishing prohibited without written permission). Location/status are from a geolocation/shorebird-network source (WHSRN), not a legal instrument.
- Galibi Nature Reservemarine/coastal nature reserve
Coastal nature reserve near the mouth of the Marowijne River, established 1969, protecting sea turtle species. Legal basis for the no-fishing designation: Nature Protection Act 1954, Art. 5 (fishing prohibited without written permission). Coordinates and reserve status are from a geolocation source (Wikipedia), not a legal instrument.
Conditions on the water
Live conditions
Live marine and weather snapshot near a coastal reference point in Suriname, from Open-Meteo. Conditions vary along the coast — treat as indicative.
Live marine & weather near Bigi Pan Multiple Use Management Area (MUMA).
Who to ask
Authorities
The official bodies responsible for fisheries and licensing.
Visserijdienst (Fisheries Department), Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (Ministerie van LVV)
fisheries authority
discover-suriname.comunknownSuriname Forest Service (LBB) / Nature Conservation Division (Natuurbeheer)
nature conservation / protected areas authority
swm-programme.infounknownSuriname Coast Guard Authority (Kustwacht)
maritime enforcement authority
mas.srunknown
Where this comes from
Sources
Every claim on this page traces back to one of these references.
- [01]
Suriname | The Global Fishing Legislative Database — The Outlaw Ocean Project
Secondarytheoutlawocean.comAccessed Jun 15 - [02]
Suriname — Fishing Offenses & Infractions (Game Act protected species) — The Outlaw Ocean Project
Secondarytheoutlawocean.comAccessed Jun 15 - [03]
Suriname — Statutory law, Non-consumption use (Nature Protection Act 1954, Art. 5) — Sustainable Wildlife Management Legal Hub (FAO)
Officialswm-programme.infoAccessed Jun 15 - [04]
Socio-Economic Study of the Fisheries Sector in Suriname (2017) — WWF
Secondarywwflac.awsassets.panda.orgAccessed Jun 15 - [05]
Suriname National Plan of Action to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing (2024)
Officialfisheryprogress.orgAccessed Jun 15 - [06]
FAOLEX Database — General Profile, Suriname (fisheries legislation listing)
Officialfao.orgAccessed Jun 15 - [07]
Department of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (Ministerie van LVV) — Discover Suriname
Secondarydiscover-suriname.comAccessed Jun 15 - [08]
Diving in Suriname — PADI (turbid waters, undeveloped dive industry)
Secondarypadi.comAccessed Jun 15 - [09]
Coppename Monding Nature Reserve — Wikipedia (coordinates, Ramsar status)
communityen.wikipedia.orgAccessed Jun 15 - [10]
Bigi Pan IBA, Suriname — BirdLife International (coordinates)
Secondarydatazone.birdlife.orgAccessed Jun 15 - [11]
Galibi, Suriname — Wikipedia (coordinates, turtle reserve)
communityen.wikipedia.orgAccessed Jun 15 - [12]
Wia Wia — Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN)
Secondarywhsrn.orgAccessed Jun 15
Researcher notes
Suriname is not a marine spearfishing destination: its Atlantic coast carries the Amazon-derived mud plume with near-zero underwater visibility and there is no developed dive/spearfishing industry or registered marine dive sites (PADI confirms an undeveloped dive sector). No legislation specific to spearfishing, harpoons or underwater fishing was located after focused web research. The fisheries legal framework (Sea Fisheries Act 1980/2017, Fish Stock Protection Act/Decree 1961, Coastal Fisheries Decree 1981) is commercial-oriented; the only documented licence regime is an annual per-vessel commercial fishing licence issued by the LVV Fisheries Department, and no recreational/spearfishing licence requirement was found (so license.required is set to unknown/null rather than true). VERBATIM SOURCING: exact legal text was retrievable only for the Nature Protection Act 1954 (Art. 5, via the FAO/SWM legal hub) and that is the sole entry kept in law_texts. The Game Act (Jachtwet 1954, Art. 2) protected-species prohibition is described in catch_limits/protected_species and legal_status.summary as a NON-verbatim paraphrase only: the available secondary source (The Outlaw Ocean Project) is itself a paraphrase, and the official Dutch statute PDF (WET van 3 april 1954, SWM Programme) could not be fetched (repeated timeouts), so no verifiable verbatim Game Act quote could be obtained and the earlier paraphrase was removed from law_texts to avoid mislabelling. The full primary texts of the Sea Fisheries Act and Fish Stock Protection Act sit in FAOLEX but could not be fetched (PDF/403 access), so they are not quoted. data_confidence is LOW because no source explicitly addresses recreational spearfishing legality and no primary fisheries-act text could be quoted. PRACTICAL GUIDANCE: any fishing in the coastal nature reserves (Galibi, Wia Wia, Coppename Monding) requires written permission and is otherwise prohibited under the Nature Protection Act 1954, Art. 5; fishing in the Bigi Pan MUMA is permit-regulated; sea turtles and marine mammals are protected under the Game Act. Confirm current rules with the LVV Visserijdienst before any underwater fishing.
Notify me when Suriname's rules change
We'll email you when Suriname's seasons or regulations are updated in our dataset.