Pakistan
Asia · Southern Asia
There is no Pakistani statute that specifically names or bans recreational spearfishing/underwater fishing, and it is practised at dive sites such as Churna Island near Karachi. However, it is restricted in practice. Marine fisheries jurisdiction is split: provinces (Sindh, Balochistan) govern territorial waters (0-12 nm) while the federal government governs the Exclusive Fishery/Economic Zone (12-200 nm). Fishing within the EEZ requires a licence (Exclusive Fishery Zone (Regulation of Fishing) Act, 1975, s.3), and using dynamite, explosives or poison to take fish is prohibited everywhere (Fisheries Act, 1897 ss.4-5; EFZ Act 1975 s.5). Crucially, spearfishing is explicitly banned inside Pakistan's marine protected areas: the Churna Island and Miani Hor MPA notifications ban 'explosives, chemicals, scuba guns and spear guns'. No dedicated recreational spearfishing licence regime, season schedule, catch limits or foreigner rules could be located in official sources, so several blocks are marked unknown.
Última actualización junio 15, 2026
Marco regulador
- §Fisheries Act, 1897 (Act No. IV of 1897) - federal, extends to whole of Pakistan
- §Exclusive Fishery Zone (Regulation of Fishing) Act, 1975 (Act No. XXXII of 1975, amended 1983 and 1993)
- §Exclusive Fishery Zone (Regulation of Fishing) Rules, 1976
- §Territorial Waters and Maritime Zones Act, 1976 (Act No. LXXXII of 1976)
- §Sindh Fisheries Ordinance, 1980 and Sindh Fisheries Rules, 1983 (Sindh territorial waters)
- §Balochistan Sea Fisheries Ordinance, 1970 / Balochistan Sea Fisheries Act, No. IX of 1971 (Balochistan territorial waters)
- §Astola Island Marine Protected Area notification, 2017 (Balochistan)
- §Churna Island Marine Protected Area notification, 2024 (Balochistan)
- §Miani Hor Marine Protected Area notification, 2024/2025 (Sindh)
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.
Destruction of fish by explosives in inland waters and on coasts
The Fisheries Act, 1897 (Act No. IV of 1897)
4. Destruction of fish by explosives in inland waters and on coasts.—(1) If any person uses any dynamite or other explosive substance in any water with intent thereby to catch or destroy any of the fish that may be therein, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two months, or with fine which may extend to two hundred rupees. (2) In sub-section (1) the word "water" includes the sea within a distance of one marine league of the sea-coast: and an offence committed under that sub-section in such sea may be tried, punished and in all respects dealt with as if it had been committed on the land abutting on such coast.
Destruction of fish by poisoning waters
The Fisheries Act, 1897 (Act No. IV of 1897)
5. Destruction of fish by poising waters.—(1) If any person puts any poison, lime or noxious material into any water with intent thereby to catch or destroy any fish, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two months, or with fine which may extend to two hundred rupees. (2) The [Provincial Government] may, by notification in the official Gazette, suspend the operation of this section in any specified area, and may in like manner modify or cancel any such notification.
Protection of fish in selected waters by rules of Provincial Government
The Fisheries Act, 1897 (Act No. IV of 1897)
6. Protection of fish in selected waters by rules of Provincial Government.—(1) The [Provincial Government] may make rules for the purposes hereinafter in this section mentioned, and may by notification in the official Gazette apply all or any of such rules to such waters, not being private waters, as the [Provincial Government] may specify in the said notification. ... (3) Such rules may prohibit or regulate all or any of the following matters, that is to say— (a) the erection and use of fixed engines; (b) the construction of weirs; and (c) the dimension and kind of the nets to be used and the modes of using them. (4) Such rules may also prohibit all fishing in any specified water for a period not exceeding two years.
Fishing without licence prohibited (Exclusive Fishery Zone)
Exclusive Fishery Zone (Regulation of Fishing) Act, 1975 (Act No. XXXII of 1975)
3. Fishing without licence prohibited. No person shall, for the purpose of fishing, operate a fishing craft or use any kind of fishing gear within the Zone except under the authority of a licence granted by the licencing authority nor otherwise than in accordance with the terms and conditions of such licence.
Dynamiting and poisoning prohibited (Exclusive Fishery Zone)
Exclusive Fishery Zone (Regulation of Fishing) Act, 1975 (Act No. XXXII of 1975)
5. Dynamiting and poisoning prohibited. No person shall use dynamite or any other explosive substance or poison, lime or noxious material for fishing or destroying fish in the Zone.
Closed season and prohibited area (Exclusive Fishery Zone)
Exclusive Fishery Zone (Regulation of Fishing) Act, 1975 (Act No. XXXII of 1975)
6. Closed season and prohibited area. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the Federal Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, declare any period to be period during which, and any area to be an area within which, fishing of all or any specified description of fish shall be prohibited in the Zone.
Penalty and procedure (Exclusive Fishery Zone)
Exclusive Fishery Zone (Regulation of Fishing) Act, 1975 (Act No. XXXII of 1975), as amended 1983 and 1993
9. Penalty [and procedure].—(1) Whoever contravenes any provision of this Act or the rules shall be punishable with [rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine which may extend to ten million rupees, or with both]. (2) Any court convicting any person under sub-section (1) may order that any fish caught or taken [and any fishing craft and fishing gear used,] in contravention of the provisions of this Act or the rules, shall be forfeited to the Federal Government.
Spear guns and scuba guns banned inside Marine Protected Areas
Churna Island and Miani Hor Marine Protected Area notifications (as reported by Dialogue Earth / Dawn)
[The MPA notifications] establish restrictions on taking endangered species including corals, marine mammals and whale sharks. They ban explosives, chemicals, scuba guns and spear guns.
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.
- VedaShrimp (commercial), Pakistan marine watersJun 1 – Jul 31
Statutory closed period for catching shrimp (S.R.O. 329(1)), commencing 1 June and ending July. Applies to shrimp fishing generally; not a spearfishing-specific rule but relevant to the marine closed-season regime.
- RestringidoLobster (berried/undersized)
Under S.R.O. 332(1)/79, female lobsters carrying eggs (berried lobsters) and lobsters of 15 cm or under that are caught must be immediately released back into the sea alive.
Permiso para pescar
Licencia
Qué necesitas para poder estar en el agua, cuánto cuesta y cómo conseguirlo.
For EEZ fishing, via the licensing authority designated by the Federal Government (Marine Fisheries Department). Provincial fisheries departments for territorial waters.
Consigue tu licenciaAbre el portal oficial · fao.org
- Tipo
- No dedicated recreational spearfishing licence located. Fishing within the federal Exclusive Fishery Zone (EEZ, 12-200 nm) requires a fishing licence under the EFZ (Regulation of Fishing) Act, 1975 s.3; commercial/territorial fishing in provincial waters is licensed by the Sindh and Balochistan fisheries departments. Recreational/sport spearfishing licensing status is unknown.
- Coste
- unknown
- Validez
- unknown
- Cómo obtenerla
- For EEZ fishing, via the licensing authority designated by the Federal Government (Marine Fisheries Department). Provincial fisheries departments for territorial waters.
- Autoridad
- Marine Fisheries Department (federal); Sindh Fisheries Department; Balochistan Fisheries Department
Equipo y técnica
Normas de equipo
Qué equipo está permitido, cómo puede usarse y las condiciones asociadas.
Restricciones
- Spear guns and scuba guns are explicitly banned inside the Churna Island and Miani Hor Marine Protected Areas (2024/2025 notifications).
- Use of dynamite, explosives, poison, lime or noxious material to catch or destroy fish is prohibited nationally (Fisheries Act 1897 ss.4-5) and in the EEZ (EFZ Act 1975 s.5).
Outside MPAs there is no located national statute that expressly permits or prohibits speargun use for recreational spearfishing, so speargun/scuba legality outside protected areas is unknown. Inside MPAs both spear guns and scuba guns are banned.
Lo que puedes capturar
Límites de captura y especies protegidas
Cuotas diarias, tallas mínimas y especies que nunca deben capturarse.
Límite diario
unknown
Tallas mínimas
- Lobstermín. 15 cm
Especies protegidas — no capturar
- ProtegidaCorals
- ProtegidaMarine mammals (whales, dolphins)
- ProtegidaWhale sharks
- ProtegidaMarine turtles
- ProtegidaBerried (egg-bearing) lobsters - must be released
Lobster size/berried-lobster rule from S.R.O. 332(1)/79. Endangered-species protections (corals, marine mammals, whale sharks, turtles) derive from the MPA notifications and species protection measures. No recreational daily bag limit for spearfishing was located.
Quién puede pescar
Visitantes y residentes
Cómo difieren las normas para los visitantes extranjeros y los residentes locales.
Visitantes extranjeros
No spearfishing-specific rules for foreigners were located. Foreign commercial deep-sea fishing in the EEZ is licensed under the Deep Sea Fishing Licensing Policy 2018. Foreign tourists do join recreational diving/spearfishing trips to Churna Island, but the legal status of foreigner recreational spearfishing is unknown and is subject to the MPA spear-gun bans where applicable.
Residentes
unknown
No spearfishing-specific resident licensing scheme was located.
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 permitidas
Uninhabited island in the Arabian Sea ~9 km west of the Hub river mouth, on the Sindh-Balochistan boundary near Karachi. Popular winter (Sep-Apr) destination for snorkeling, scuba diving, fishing and spearfishing run by tour operators. Note: the island and surrounding waters were declared a Marine Protected Area in 2024 whose notification bans spear guns and scuba guns, so spearfishing there is now legally restricted/prohibited despite continued recreational activity.
Spearfishing is reported by tour operators but the Churna Island MPA (2024) notification bans spear guns and scuba guns. Treat as restricted/prohibited within the protected area.
Áreas prohibidas
- Astola Island Marine Protected Areamarine protected area
Pakistan's first Marine Protected Area, designated 15 June 2017. Astola is Pakistan's largest offshore island (~6.7 km long, area ~6.7 km2), ~25 km off the Balochistan coast and ~39 km SE of Pasni, Gwadar District. The notification bans harming endangered marine life, fishing with explosives or chemicals, building structures, staying without permission and use of firearms (except law enforcement); a management plan was endorsed in 2025.
- Churna Island Marine Protected Areamarine protected area
Marine Protected Area designated in 2024 (Balochistan) to protect corals and fish. Notification bans explosives, chemicals, scuba guns and spear guns, and restricts the taking of endangered species including corals, marine mammals and whale sharks.
- Miani Hor Marine Protected Areamarine protected area
Marine Protected Area in Sindh, designated 2024/2025, ~100 km west of Karachi. Notification bans explosives, chemicals, scuba guns and spear guns, and restricts the taking of endangered species including corals, marine mammals and whale sharks.
Condiciones en el agua
Condiciones en vivo
Instantánea en vivo del mar y el tiempo cerca de un punto de referencia costero en Pakistan, 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 Churna Island (recreational dive/spearfishing site, outside the MPA core).
A quién preguntar
Autoridades
Los organismos oficiales responsables de la pesca y las licencias.
Marine Fisheries Department (MFD)
fisheries authority (federal executive fishery agency)
fao.orgMarine Fisheries Department, Fish Harbour, West Wharf, Karachi, PakistanMinistry of National Food Security and Research (formerly Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, MINFAL)
federal ministry responsible for fisheries
fao.orgunknownSindh Fisheries Department
provincial fisheries authority (territorial waters of Sindh)
korangifisheries.gov.pkunknownBalochistan Fisheries Department
provincial fisheries authority (territorial waters of Balochistan)
fao.orgunknownPakistan Maritime Security Agency (MSA)
maritime enforcement agency (under Ministry of Defence)
fao.orgunknown
De dónde proviene
Fuentes
Cada afirmación de esta página se remonta a una de estas referencias.
- [01]
The Fisheries Act, 1897 (Act No. IV of 1897) - full text (FAOLEX)
Oficialfaolex.fao.orgConsultado Jun 15 - [02]
Exclusive Fishery Zone (Regulation of Fishing) Act, 1975 (Act No. XXXII of 1975) - full text (FAOLEX)
Oficialfaolex.fao.orgConsultado Jun 15 - [03]
FAO Country Review: Pakistan - marine capture fisheries management (legal framework, prohibited methods, closed seasons, authorities)
Oficialfao.orgConsultado Jun 15 - [04]
Analysing Pakistan's fisheries legislation and institutional framework (Frontiers in Marine Science, 2025)
Secundariafrontiersin.orgConsultado Jun 15 - [05]
Can Pakistan reverse its dismal record on ocean protection? - MPA notifications ban spear guns and scuba guns (Dawn)
Secundariadawn.comConsultado Jun 15 - [06]
Pakistan's first marine protected area: Astola Island management plan endorsed (Geo.tv)
Secundariageo.tvConsultado Jun 15 - [07]
Churna Island - recreational diving and spearfishing site (Wikipedia)
communityen.wikipedia.orgConsultado Jun 15 - [08]
Astola Island - location and coordinates (Wikipedia)
communityen.wikipedia.orgConsultado Jun 15
Notas del investigador
Pakistan has no statute that explicitly names recreational spearfishing/underwater fishing; legality is inferred from the general marine fisheries framework, which is split between provincial (territorial waters 0-12 nm: Sindh Fisheries Ordinance 1980, Balochistan Sea Fisheries Ordinance/Act 1970-71) and federal (EEZ 12-200 nm: EFZ (Regulation of Fishing) Act 1975) jurisdiction, plus the umbrella Fisheries Act 1897. Spearfishing is actively practised recreationally (e.g. Churna Island near Karachi). Classified as 'restricted' because: (1) spear guns and scuba guns are explicitly banned inside the Churna Island and Miani Hor Marine Protected Areas; (2) any fishing in the EEZ requires a licence; (3) explosives/poison are banned nationally. Verbatim law texts for ss.4-6 of the Fisheries Act 1897 and ss.3,5,6,9 of the EFZ Act 1975 were extracted from official FAOLEX PDFs (downloaded and parsed locally; WebFetch could not render the binary PDFs directly). The MPA spear-gun/scuba-gun ban is sourced to news reporting (Dawn / Dialogue Earth) quoting the MPA notifications; the primary gazette notification text was not directly retrieved, so confidence on the exact MPA wording is medium. Coordinates: Astola Island ~25.12N 63.85E; Churna Island ~24.87N 66.67E (approximate). Recreational spearfishing licence regime, season schedule, daily catch limits and foreigner-specific rules were not found in official sources and are marked unknown/null. Overall data_confidence: medium.
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