Afghanistan
Asia · Southern Asia
Afghanistan is landlocked, so no marine spearfishing exists. There is no dedicated fisheries or fishing statute and no spearfishing-specific regulation; the FAOLEX/ECOLEX record for the Environment Law lists it under wild species, protected areas and biodiversity, but not fisheries. Inland (freshwater) fishing in rivers, streams and lakes is largely informal and unregulated. The only relevant national legal instrument is the Environment Law (Official Gazette No. 912, 25 January 2007), whose species-management chapter (Articles 46-50) regulates the taking of wild fauna through harvestable/protected species lists and permits administered by the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA). The law defines 'taking' broadly (hunting, killing, injuring, capturing, collecting... of any species of fauna), and 'harvestable species' as those that may be taken for 'commercial, sport, hunting or subsistence purposes' - so spearing a listed harvestable species for sport would in principle require a permit/management agreement (Art. 48), and any listed protected species may not be taken at all without prior NEPA authorisation (Art. 49). In practice no harvestable/protected list of freshwater fish has been published and no fishing permits are issued, so the framework is dormant for ordinary inland fishing. Destructive fishing methods (dynamite/explosives and electrofishing) are illegal in practice and are reported as banned in Band-e-Amir National Park. No source addresses recreational spearfishing or speargun use specifically, so its legality remains genuinely unknown; it is not regulated as a distinct activity.
Última actualización junio 23, 2026
Marco regulador
- §Environment Law of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Official Gazette No. 912 (25 January 2007) - species-management chapter, Articles 46-50 (listing of harvestable/protected species, taking on permits/management agreements, taking of protected species prohibited except by NEPA permit); plus the Art. 4 definitions of 'taking' and 'harvestable species' (incl. sport)
- §Band-e-Amir National Park designation (Afghanistan's first national park, established 22 May 2009) - protected-area regulations reported to include a ban on grenade/explosive and electric-shock fishing
La ley, literal
Textos legales
Las disposiciones legales y reglamentarias exactas que regulan la pesca submarina aquí, citadas tal como están publicadas, con un enlace a cada fuente oficial.
Definition of 'harvestable species' (includes sport taking)
Environment Law, Official Gazette No. 912 (25 January 2007)
"harvestable species" means a species that may be taken for commercial, sport, hunting or subsistence purposes.
Definition of 'taking'
Environment Law, Official Gazette No. 912 (25 January 2007)
"taking" means the hunting, killing, injuring, capturing, collecting, picking, uprooting, digging up, cutting, destruction or removal of any species of fauna or flora.
Listing of harvestable and protected species
Environment Law, Official Gazette No. 912 (25 January 2007)
The National Environmental Protection Agency, with the assistance of academic institutions and relevant ministries, shall prepare lists of harvestable and protected species occurring in the country, and update such lists as appropriate.
Taking of harvestable species (management plans)
Environment Law, Official Gazette No. 912 (25 January 2007)
Taking into account the principles of unit management, rational management and ecological management, the National Environmental Protection Agency shall prepare management plans for harvestable species listed pursuant to Article 47 of this Act, which plans shall include provisions for conservation of the habitats of the species.
Taking of harvestable species (permit requirement)
Environment Law, Official Gazette No. 912 (25 January 2007)
Taking of harvestable species shall be allowed on the basis of permits or management agreements conditioned upon maintaining favourable conservation status of the species.
Taking of protected species
Environment Law, Official Gazette No. 912 (25 January 2007)
Taking of all species listed as protected as provided in Article 47 of this Act is prohibited, except by prior authorisation in the form of a permit issued by the National Environmental Protection Agency in terms of sub-article 2.
Domestic possession and trade of listed species
Environment Law, Official Gazette No. 912 (25 January 2007)
No person shall possess, transport, sell, offer for sale or purchase any specimen of any species listed under Article 47 or product made from any specimen of any species listed under Article 47 which has been illegally imported, taken from the wild, or otherwise not lawfully acquired without a valid permit.
Cuándo puedes bucear
Temporadas y restricciones horarias
Periodos de veda, de apertura y restringidos a lo largo del año. Confirma siempre localmente las vedas específicas de cada especie.
No se registran vedas estacionales — verifícalo localmente antes de bucear.
Permiso para pescar
Licencia
Qué necesitas para poder estar en el agua, cuánto cuesta y cómo conseguirlo.
- Autoridad
- National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA); Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL)
Equipo y técnica
Normas de equipo
Qué equipo está permitido, cómo puede usarse y las condiciones asociadas.
Restricciones
- Dynamite/explosive fishing is illegal (documented as a practice since the 1980s but now unlawful)
- Electric-shock (electrofishing) and grenade/explosive fishing are banned in Band-e-Amir National Park
No rule specifically addresses spearguns, harpoons or recreational spearfishing. Equipment legality for spearfishing is genuinely unknown; the only documented gear prohibitions concern destructive methods (explosives, electrofishing).
Lo que puedes capturar
Límites de captura y especies protegidas
Cuotas diarias, tallas mínimas y especies que nunca deben capturarse.
No fishing-specific catch or size limits were found. Under the Environment Law (2007) 'taking' covers the killing, injuring or capturing of any species of fauna (Art. 4(26)), and 'harvestable species' includes those taken for sport (Art. 4(15)); NEPA maintains the harvestable/protected lists (Art. 47). Taking a harvestable listed species requires a permit or management agreement (Art. 48(2)); taking a protected listed species is prohibited except under prior NEPA permit (Art. 49). The first national protected-species list (2009) covered mammals, birds, plants, an amphibian (Paghman salamander) and an insect, but no commercially fished freshwater fish were highlighted in the sources reviewed, so no list-driven fish catch limit is documented.
Quién puede pescar
Visitantes y residentes
Cómo difieren las normas para los visitantes extranjeros y los residentes locales.
Visitantes extranjeros
No rules specific to foreign anglers or spearfishers were found. General security conditions and lack of tourism infrastructure make recreational underwater fishing by foreigners impractical.
Residentes
No resident-specific fishing or spearfishing licensing framework was found. Inland subsistence fishing is largely informal and unregulated.
Dónde en la costa
Zonas permitidas y prohibidas
Áreas concretas abiertas o cerradas a la pesca submarina. Consulta el panorama completo en el mapa interactivo.
Áreas prohibidas
- Band-e-Amir National Parknational park
Afghanistan's first national park (established 22 May 2009), a series of intensely blue lakes in Bamyan Province. Destructive fishing in the park lakes - using hand grenades/explosives and electric shocking devices - has been banned by the park administration after such methods nearly eliminated fish stocks. No legally authorised recreational fishing or spearfishing regime is documented.
Condiciones en el agua
Condiciones en vivo
Instantánea en vivo del mar y el tiempo cerca de un punto de referencia costero en Afghanistan, de Open-Meteo. Las condiciones varían a lo largo de la costa; tómalo como orientativo.
Estado del mar y el tiempo en vivo cerca de Band-e-Amir National Park.
A quién preguntar
Autoridades
Los organismos oficiales responsables de la pesca y las licencias.
National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA)
environment authority
Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL)
agriculture and fisheries authority
De dónde proviene
Fuentes
Cada afirmación de esta página se remonta a una de estas referencias.
- [01]
Environment Law of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Official Gazette No. 912 (25 Jan 2007), unofficial English translation - official FAOLEX full-text PDF (verbatim Arts. 4(15), 4(26), 47, 48, 49, 57)
Oficialfaolex.fao.orgConsultado Jun 23 - [02]
Environment Law - ECOLEX/FAOLEX record (LEX-FAOC185430): gazette no./date, 78 articles / 9 chapters, categories = wild species, protected areas, biodiversity (NOT fisheries)
Oficialecolex.orgConsultado Jun 23 - [03]
Environmental Law of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Environment Law 2007) - secondary HTML rendering, corroborates Articles 47-49
Secundariaafghan-web.comConsultado Jun 23 - [04]
A Guide to Afghanistan's 2007 Environment Law (UNEP / OHCHR)
Oficialohchr.orgConsultado Jun 14 - [05]
No Fishing with Hand Grenades in Afghanistan's New National Park (Band-e-Amir) - National Parks Traveler
Secundarianationalparkstraveler.orgConsultado Jun 14 - [06]
Band-e Amir National Park - Wikipedia (establishment, coordinates, management)
Secundariaen.wikipedia.orgConsultado Jun 14 - [07]
Coldwater Fish and Fisheries in Afghanistan - FAO (limited fishing activity, no catch records)
Oficialfao.orgConsultado Jun 14 - [08]
Afghanistan's first-ever list of protected species (NEPA, 2009) - Newswise
Secundarianewswise.comConsultado Jun 14
Notas del investigador
Afghanistan is landlocked (no sea coastline), so marine spearfishing does not apply. Research found NO dedicated national fisheries or fishing statute and NO spearfishing-specific regulation; the ECOLEX/FAOLEX record for the Environment Law (LEX-FAOC185430) classifies it under wild species, protected areas and biodiversity, not fisheries, and FAOLEX has no Afghan fisheries instrument. A FAOLEX 'Fisheries Law' record (LEX-FAOC040534) initially surfaced in searches but was verified to be Vietnam's 2003 Fisheries Law, and 'Law on Fisheries and Aquaculture' (LEX-FAOC151686) is Bulgaria's - both are deliberately excluded. 2026-06-23 deepening: the verbatim law texts were upgraded from the secondary afghan-web.com HTML to the OFFICIAL FAOLEX full-text PDF (afg185430.pdf, Official Gazette No. 912 dated 25 January 2007, the National Assembly-approved unofficial English translation) and re-confirmed word-for-word via pdftotext. Articles 47(1), 48(1) and 49(1) match the prior text exactly; added the directly-relevant Art. 4(15) definition of 'harvestable species' (which expressly includes 'sport' taking), the Art. 4(26) definition of 'taking' (broad: hunting/killing/injuring/capturing of any fauna), Art. 48(2) (taking of harvestable species allowed only on permits/management agreements), and Art. 57(1) (possession/trade of unlawfully-taken listed species prohibited). The 'unofficial English translation' header on the gazette confirms translated:true (originals are Dari/Pashto). Destructive fishing (dynamite/explosives, electrofishing) is illegal in practice and reported as banned in Band-e-Amir National Park; the Band-e-Amir fishing-ban detail rests on the previously-fetched National Parks Traveler report (now returning HTTP 403) and is corroborated by multiple secondary sources, but no fresh verbatim primary text for that park rule could be reproduced on 2026-06-23, so no new verbatim park-rule law_text was added (anti-fabrication). A reported 2008 ban on gas-engine boats on the lakes (water-pollution measure) was likewise NOT added because no currently-fetchable page reproduces it verbatim (the indexed Wikipedia/CNN passages were unavailable: live Wikipedia no longer carries the sentence, CNN returned HTTP 451). data_confidence raised low->medium on the strength of the official primary-source citation and the broader provision set; spearfishing_allowed stays 'unknown' because no source confirms or denies the legality of recreational spearfishing as a distinct activity - the species-permit regime would only bite if NEPA had published a freshwater-fish harvestable/protected list (none documented).
Avísame cuando cambien las normas de Afghanistan
Te enviaremos un correo cuando se actualicen las temporadas o la normativa de Afghanistan en nuestro conjunto de datos.
