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.
Última actualización junio 16, 2026
Marco regulador
- §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
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.
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.
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.
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.
Consigue tu licenciaAbre el portal oficial · discover-suriname.com
- Tipo
- Commercial fishing-vessel licence only; no recreational/sport-fishing or spearfishing licence requirement was located
- Coste
- unknown
- Validez
- Annual (commercial fishing-vessel licences must be renewed each year)
- Cómo obtenerla
- 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.
- Autoridad
- Visserijdienst (Fisheries Department), Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (LVV)
Equipo y técnica
Normas de equipo
Qué equipo está permitido, cómo puede usarse y las condiciones asociadas.
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.
Lo que puedes capturar
Límites de captura y especies protegidas
Cuotas diarias, tallas mínimas y especies que nunca deben capturarse.
Límite diario
unknown
Especies protegidas — no capturar
- ProtegidaAll sea turtle species (protected under the Game Act; Galibi, Wia Wia and Coppename Monding reserves protect nesting grounds)
- ProtegidaMarine mammals (protected under the Game Act)
- ProtegidaAll 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.
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 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.
Residentes
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.
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
- 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.
Condiciones en el agua
Condiciones en vivo
Instantánea en vivo del mar y el tiempo cerca de un punto de referencia costero en Suriname, 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 Bigi Pan Multiple Use Management Area (MUMA).
A quién preguntar
Autoridades
Los organismos oficiales responsables de la pesca y las licencias.
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
De dónde proviene
Fuentes
Cada afirmación de esta página se remonta a una de estas referencias.
- [01]
Suriname | The Global Fishing Legislative Database — The Outlaw Ocean Project
Secundariatheoutlawocean.comConsultado Jun 15 - [02]
Suriname — Fishing Offenses & Infractions (Game Act protected species) — The Outlaw Ocean Project
Secundariatheoutlawocean.comConsultado Jun 15 - [03]
Suriname — Statutory law, Non-consumption use (Nature Protection Act 1954, Art. 5) — Sustainable Wildlife Management Legal Hub (FAO)
Oficialswm-programme.infoConsultado Jun 15 - [04]
Socio-Economic Study of the Fisheries Sector in Suriname (2017) — WWF
Secundariawwflac.awsassets.panda.orgConsultado Jun 15 - [05]
Suriname National Plan of Action to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing (2024)
Oficialfisheryprogress.orgConsultado Jun 15 - [06]
FAOLEX Database — General Profile, Suriname (fisheries legislation listing)
Oficialfao.orgConsultado Jun 15 - [07]
Department of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (Ministerie van LVV) — Discover Suriname
Secundariadiscover-suriname.comConsultado Jun 15 - [08]
Diving in Suriname — PADI (turbid waters, undeveloped dive industry)
Secundariapadi.comConsultado Jun 15 - [09]
Coppename Monding Nature Reserve — Wikipedia (coordinates, Ramsar status)
communityen.wikipedia.orgConsultado Jun 15 - [10]
Bigi Pan IBA, Suriname — BirdLife International (coordinates)
Secundariadatazone.birdlife.orgConsultado Jun 15 - [11]
Galibi, Suriname — Wikipedia (coordinates, turtle reserve)
communityen.wikipedia.orgConsultado Jun 15 - [12]
Wia Wia — Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN)
Secundariawhsrn.orgConsultado Jun 15
Notas del investigador
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.
Avísame cuando cambien las normas de Suriname
Te enviaremos un correo cuando se actualicen las temporadas o la normativa de Suriname en nuestro conjunto de datos.