Yemen
Asia · Western Asia
No located Yemeni source specifically addresses recreational spearfishing (underwater fishing). General marine fishing is governed by Law No. 2 of 2006 (regulating fishing, exploitation and protection of aquatic organisms) and its Executive Regulations (Prime Minister's Resolution No. 296 of 2006), framed around artisanal/traditional and commercial fishing; the General Fisheries Authority issues only traditional-fisherman, vessel, seller, transport, export and company licenses, with no recreational or sport-fishing category published, so there is no published recreational-spearfishing licensing pathway, prohibition, or explicit permission. The verbatim gear/method provisions of the 2006 fisheries law could not be retrieved (the only located full text is a scanned Arabic image PDF). What is documented verbatim is the Socotra Archipelago regime: the Conservation Zoning Plan, ratified by Presidential Decree No. 275 of 2000, defines marine National Parks and marine Nature Sanctuaries around the islands, and Article 9 prohibits taking wildlife 'with firearms or any other means without permit from the responsible authorities' and causing 'any harm to the environment' inside these protected areas - which would engage recreational spearfishing there without an EPA permit. Across the wider Socotra waters customary marine protected areas historically imposed restrictions on fishing gear and seasons, though enforcement has weakened (the UNEP-WCMC datasheet notes bottom-net and dynamite fishing now occurring). Outside protected areas the legality of recreational spearfishing is unverified, so status is set to 'restricted' overall (clearly restricted/permit-gated within Socotra's marine protected areas; unknown elsewhere). In practice Yemen has almost no dive/spearfishing tourism infrastructure and is in protracted armed conflict, so the activity is effectively inaccessible for foreign visitors regardless of the formal legal text.
Last updated June 22, 2026
Governing framework
- §Law No. 2 of 2006 regulating fishing, exploitation and protection of aquatic organisms (78 articles)
- §Prime Minister's Resolution No. 296 of 2006 (Executive Regulations for Law No. 2 of 2006)
- §Law No. 3 of 2011 (amending Article 40 of Law No. 2 of 2006)
- §Decree-Law No. 42 of 1991 on regulation of fishing and management and protection of marine resources (superseded by Law No. 2 of 2006)
- §Presidential Decree No. 275 of 2000 ratifying the Conservation Zoning Plan of the Socotra Archipelago (marine National Parks + Nature Sanctuaries; Article 9 permit/harm prohibition)
- §Environment Protection Law No. 26 of 1995
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.
Purpose and scope of Yemen's principal fisheries law
Law No. 2 of 2006 regulating fishing, exploitation and protection of aquatic organisms
This Law, consisting of 78 articles divided into VI Parts, aims at protecting and developing marine creatures and their marine environment from random fishing and detriment practices; encouraging and organizing investment in fishing and exploiting marine creatures and their marketing; organizing artisanal and coastal fishing activities to replace foreign industrial fishing; encouraging investments in aquaculture; promoting an integrated information database; strengthening marine control and surveillance; supporting research for sustainable exploitation of marine creatures; and protecting fish production quality through development of artisanal fishing.
Official closure of the shrimp fishing season in Red Sea territorial waters
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources decision (under the Law Regulating the Fishing, Exploitation, and Protection of Aquatic Life and its executive regulations)
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources announced the closure of the coastal shrimp fishing season in the Red Sea within Yemen's territorial waters, effective 30 April 2026. The decision is based on recommendations from research and fisheries bodies and comes within the framework of preserving fishery resources and ensuring the sustainability of aquatic life reproduction in territorial waters. Violators will face the penalties stipulated in the Law Regulating the Fishing, Exploitation, and Protection of Aquatic Life, its executive regulations, and other applicable laws.
Socotra Conservation Zoning Plan - zone definitions (National Park / Nature Sanctuary include sea)
Presidential Decree No. 275 of 2000 ratifying the Conservation Zoning Plan of the Socotra Archipelago
National Park: natural areas of land or sea designated to protect the ecological integrity of the unique ecosystems of Socotra islands for present and future generations to provide a foundation for scientific, educational, and recreational opportunities, beside the appropriate development activities for ecotourism. Nature Sanctuaries: these are areas of land or sea characterized by rare plant or animal species still retaining their natural character set aside for scientific research. [Article 4 divides Socotra into Resource Use Reserve (marine area ~16,498 km2), National Parks (marine ~1,514 km2) and Nature Sanctuary (marine ~154 km2); Article 5 fixes the marine protected-area boundaries by attached Map No. 2.]
Socotra Conservation Zoning Plan - prohibition on hunting and environmental harm in protected areas
Presidential Decree No. 275 of 2000 ratifying the Conservation Zoning Plan of the Socotra Archipelago
Every citizen or any person is prohibited from hunting with firearms or any other means without permit from the responsible authorities; or cause any harm to the environment in the areas determined by this law according to the attached maps. [The 'responsible authority' is defined in Article 2 as the ministries/departments/public institutions and the Environment Protection Council; the decree's protected areas include the marine National Parks and marine Nature Sanctuaries. No provision specifically names spearfishing, but spearfishing in these marine protected areas would engage this general prohibition on taking wildlife 'by any other means' without a permit and on causing environmental harm.]
Socotra marine protected areas and traditional restrictions on fishing gear and seasons
UNEP-WCMC World Heritage Datasheet - Socotra Archipelago (Yemen), inscribed 2008
The Conservation Zoning Plan for the Socotra archipelago endorsed by Presidential Decree 275 which established the National Park and Nature Sanctuaries [...]. The marine nature sanctuaries included in the property encompass the most important elements of marine biodiversity. [...] There were marine protected areas with restrictions on fishing gear and seasons [...]. There is pressure on artisanal fishing from larger boats and international fishing fleets. Fishing with bottom nets and dynamite are being resorted to, and customary regulations no longer control the fishery as they once did.
When you can dive
Seasons & time restrictions
Closed, open and restricted periods across the year. Always confirm species-specific closures locally.
- ClosedCoastal shrimp - Red Sea, Yemeni territorial watersApr 30 – unknown
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources ordered closure of the coastal shrimp fishing season in the Red Sea within Yemen's territorial waters effective 30 April 2026 to protect stocks during the reproduction period; the reopening date was not stated in the announcement. This is a commercial/artisanal shrimp closure, not specific to spearfishing.
Permission to fish
License
What you need to be allowed in the water, what it costs, and how to get it.
Commercial/traditional licenses are issued via the General Fisheries Authority's digital platform; no recreational pathway documented.
Get your licenseOpens the official portal · faas-ye.com
- Type
- No recreational/sport or spearfishing license category is published. The General Fisheries Authority issues only traditional-fisherman, fishing-vessel, fish-seller, fish transport and marketing, fish-export and company licenses for marine fishing in territorial waters.
- Cost
- unknown
- Validity
- unknown
- How to obtain
- Commercial/traditional licenses are issued via the General Fisheries Authority's digital platform; no recreational pathway documented.
- Authority
- General Authority for Fisheries (General Fisheries Authority, Arabian Sea) under the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources
Gear & technique
Equipment rules
What gear is permitted, how it may be used, and the conditions attached.
No located source specifies rules on spearguns, harpoons, or scuba for recreational use nationally. Law No. 2 of 2006 and its Executive Regulations (Resolution No. 296 of 2006) govern fishing gear and prohibited methods, but the verbatim gear/method provisions could not be retrieved (the FAOLEX full text is a scanned Arabic-language image PDF). Within the Socotra Archipelago's marine protected areas, Article 9 of Presidential Decree No. 275 of 2000 prohibits taking wildlife 'with firearms or any other means without permit from the responsible authorities' - which would cover spearguns/harpoons used recreationally there without an EPA permit. Use of explosives and other destructive methods is generally prohibited under the fisheries and environmental laws, though the UNEP-WCMC datasheet records that bottom-net and dynamite fishing are nonetheless occurring around Socotra as customary controls have weakened; the exact national wording on destructive methods was not obtained.
What you may take
Catch limits & protected species
Daily quotas, minimum sizes, and species that must never be taken.
Daily limit
unknown
No recreational daily bag or size limits located. Yemen's fisheries are managed for sustainability under Law No. 2 of 2006; conservation concerns focus on over-exploited rock lobster and shrimp stocks, demersal fish, and shark stocks (shark finning is a recognised compliance problem). Sea turtles and corals are protected within marine protected areas, but a verbatim protected-species list for spearfishing could not be confirmed.
Who may fish
Visitors & residents
How the rules differ for foreign visitors and local residents.
Foreign visitors
Restrictions
- No recreational spearfishing pathway is published for foreigners.
- Yemen is in protracted armed conflict; most governments advise against all travel, and dive/spearfishing tourism infrastructure is effectively non-existent (the limited liveaboard diving historically operated mainly in the Red Sea islands).
Industrial/foreign fishing has historically been a concern that Law No. 2 of 2006 explicitly aims to replace with artisanal/coastal fishing. No documented regime grants foreign recreational divers a spearfishing permit.
Residents
Traditional fisherman license (commercial/artisanal, not recreational)
Marine fishing in territorial waters by nationals is organised through traditional-fisherman and vessel licenses (for Abari and Jalbah vessel types). No recreational resident spearfishing category is published.
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
- Socotra Archipelago marine protected areas (Conservation Zoning Plan, Decree 275/2000)UNESCO World Heritage marine/biosphere reserve (national park + nature sanctuaries)
UNESCO World Heritage site (inscribed 2008) and Man and the Biosphere Reserve. The Conservation Zoning Plan, ratified by Presidential Decree No. 275 of 2000, defines marine National Parks (sea area ~1,514 km2) and marine Nature Sanctuaries (sea area ~154 km2) around Socotra, Samha, Darsa and Abd al-Kuri (12 terrestrial and 25 marine Nature Sanctuaries per the UNEP-WCMC datasheet). Article 9 of the decree prohibits taking wildlife 'with firearms or any other means without permit from the responsible authorities' and causing 'any harm to the environment' inside these areas; the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) manages them. Customary marine protected areas historically restricted fishing gear and seasons. Recreational spearfishing in Socotra's marine protected areas is therefore restricted/permit-gated; no published authorisation for visitor spearfishing exists.
- Ras Isa Marine Parkmarine park
Designated marine protected area on Yemen's Red Sea coast (listed among Yemen's protected areas).
- Zuqur Islands Marine National Park (Zubair / Hanish-Zuqur area)marine national park
Marine national park in the southern Red Sea (Zuqur and surrounding islands) listed among Yemen's protected areas.
- Kamaran Island Protected Areamarine protected area
Marine protected area in the Red Sea about 5 km off Al-Hudaydah, declared a protected area by cabinet resolution in 2009. Kamaran is the largest Yemeni shelf island in the Red Sea (about 108 km2); coral-reef ecosystems surround the island on three sides and mangrove forests cover its northern parts. Conservation status restricts damaging extractive activities; no published authorisation for recreational spearfishing.
Conditions on the water
Live conditions
Live marine and weather snapshot near a coastal reference point in Yemen, from Open-Meteo. Conditions vary along the coast — treat as indicative.
Live marine & weather near Socotra Archipelago marine protected areas (Conservation Zoning Plan, Decree 275/2000).
Who to ask
Authorities
The official bodies responsible for fisheries and licensing.
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources (formerly Ministry of Fish Wealth)
fisheries ministry
saba.yeSanaa, with regional offices in Aden, Hodeidah and MukallaGeneral Authority for Fisheries in the Arabian Sea (General Fisheries Authority)
fisheries authority
faas-ye.comEstablished by Republican Decree No. 9 of 2001Environment Protection Authority (EPA) / Socotra Environment Protection Authority
environment authority
ye.chm-cbd.netOversees protected areas including the Socotra Archipelago
Where this comes from
Sources
Every claim on this page traces back to one of these references.
- [01]
Law No. 2 of 2006 regulating fishing, exploitation and protection of aquatic organisms (ECOLEX abstract)
Officialecolex.orgAccessed Jun 15 - [02]
FAOLEX Database - Yemen fisheries and aquaculture legislation profile
Officialfao.orgAccessed Jun 15 - [03]
Law No. 2 of 2006 full text (Arabic, scanned PDF)
Officialfaolex.fao.orgAccessed Jun 15 - [04]
Saba (Yemen News Agency) - Ministry announces closure of shrimp fishing season in Red Sea
Officialsaba.yeAccessed Jun 15 - [05]
Fishery Authority Yemen - Licenses
Officialfaas-ye.comAccessed Jun 15 - [06]
Yemen Biodiversity Clearing-House - Legal and Institutional Framework
Officialye.chm-cbd.netAccessed Jun 15 - [07]
UNESCO World Heritage Centre - Socotra Archipelago, State of Conservation
Officialwhc.unesco.orgAccessed Jun 15 - [08]
List of protected areas of Yemen (Wikipedia)
Secondaryen.wikipedia.orgAccessed Jun 15 - [09]
Republic of Yemen Ministry of Fish Wealth - National Fisheries Strategy
Officialunodc.orgAccessed Jun 15 - [10]
Presidential Decree No. 275 of 2000 - Conservation Zoning Plan of the Socotra Archipelago (integral text, EPC/UNDP GEF Socotra Biodiversity Project translation)
Officialsocotraproject.orgAccessed Jun 22 - [11]
UNEP-WCMC World Heritage Datasheet - Socotra Archipelago (Yemen)
Officialworld-heritage-datasheets.unep-wcmc.orgAccessed Jun 22
Researcher notes
Recreational spearfishing is not specifically named in any Yemeni source located. The national fisheries regime (Law No. 2 of 2006 and its Executive Regulations, Resolution No. 296 of 2006; earlier Decree-Law No. 42 of 1991, now superseded) targets artisanal/commercial fishing and its published license categories contain no recreational or sport-fishing pathway. Verbatim national gear/method article text could not be quoted because the only located full text is a scanned Arabic-language image PDF on FAOLEX (yem86989.pdf) that did not yield reliable OCR, and FAOLEX/ECOLEX provide only abstracts (including for Resolution No. 296 of 2006, whose abstract is empty). legal_status was raised from 'unknown' to 'restricted' because the Socotra Archipelago regime is now sourced verbatim: the Conservation Zoning Plan ratified by Presidential Decree No. 275 of 2000 defines marine National Parks (~1,514 km2) and marine Nature Sanctuaries (~154 km2) around the islands, and its Article 9 prohibits taking wildlife 'with firearms or any other means without permit from the responsible authorities' and causing 'any harm to the environment' inside these protected areas - clearly restricting/permit-gating recreational spearfishing there; outside Socotra's marine protected areas legality remains unverified. The law_texts entries are (1) the ECOLEX abstract of Law No. 2 of 2006, (2) the verbatim official shrimp-closure announcement from Saba (Yemen News Agency), (3) Decree 275/2000 zone definitions, (4) Decree 275/2000 Article 9 prohibition, and (5) the UNEP-WCMC World Heritage Datasheet note on Socotra's marine protected areas and traditional restrictions on fishing gear and seasons (which also records that bottom-net and dynamite fishing are now occurring as customary controls weakened). Other marine protected areas (Ras Isa Marine Park; Zuqur Islands Marine National Park; Kamaran Island Protected Area) restrict fishing/harvesting. Practical context: Yemen has been in armed conflict since 2014/2015, dive and spearfishing tourism infrastructure is effectively non-existent, and most governments advise against all travel - so the activity is inaccessible in practice irrespective of the formal legal text. data_confidence raised low->medium: the Socotra marine-protected-area framework is now verbatim-sourced, but the national fisheries law's exact gear/method provisions remain unretrieved.
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