Bosnia and Herzegovina
Europe · Southern Europe
Spearfishing (underwater fishing with a speargun, spear or harpoon) is prohibited in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Fisheries is not a state-level competence; it is regulated by the two entities (the Federation of B&H and Republika Srpska) and by the Brcko District through separate freshwater-fishery laws. Every freshwater-fishery instrument that could be verified expressly forbids catching fish with an underwater gun (podvodna puska), spears (osti) and harpoons (harpuni) and treats this as a punishable offence. B&H has only a very short (~20-24 km) Adriatic coastline around Neum, but it has no marine/sea sport-fishing law or licensing regime; the sea border with Croatia remains unratified (1999 Neum Agreement) and the protected area off Neum (date-mussel ban) further restricts any underwater harvesting. There is therefore no lawful route to recreational spearfishing in either fresh water or the sea.
Azken eguneraketa Urria 10, 2025
Arau-esparrua
- §Zakon o slatkovodnom ribarstvu Federacije Bosne i Hercegovine (Law on Freshwater Fishery of the Federation of B&H), Sluzbene novine FBiH 64/04 (Art. 46 prohibits harpoon/spear fishing)
- §Zakon o slatkovodnom ribarstvu Brcko distrikta BiH (Law on Freshwater Fishery of Brcko District), Sluzbeni glasnik Brcko distrikta BiH 35/05 (Art. 54(1)5 prohibits speargun/spear/harpoon fishing)
- §Zakon o ribarstvu Republike Srpske (Law on Fishery of Republika Srpska) - entity-level freshwater fishery law that likewise bans fishing with harpoon, spears and underwater guns
- §Prednacrt Zakona o slatkovodnom ribarstvu Federacije BiH, 2021 (draft revision; Art. 52(1)k retains the speargun/spear/harpoon prohibition)
- Arpoia
- Debekatuta
- Atzerritarrak
- Ez dago baimenduta
Legea, hitzez hitz
Lege-testuak
Hemen arpoiarekin arrantzatzea arautzen duten xedapen araugile eta arauzko zehatza, argitaratutakoak aipatuak, iturri ofizial bakoitzeko esteka batekin.
Prohibited fishing methods - speargun, spears and harpoons (Brcko District)
Zakon o slatkovodnom ribarstvu Brcko distrikta BiH (Sluzbeni glasnik Brcko distrikta BiH br. 35/05)
Clan 54 (1) Zabranjeno je: ... 5. loviti ribu podvodnom puskom, ostima, harpunima, elektricnom strujom, drugim nedozvoljenim sredstvima, i tako ulovljenu ribu stavljati u promet,
Penalty for speargun/spear/harpoon fishing (Brcko District)
Zakon o slatkovodnom ribarstvu Brcko distrikta BiH (Sluzbeni glasnik Brcko distrikta BiH br. 35/05)
11. ako lovi ribu podvodnom puskom ili ostima ili harpunima ili elektricnom strujom ili drugim nedozvoljenim sredstvima ili ako tako ulovljenu ribu stavi u promet (clan 54 stav 1 tacka 5),
Prohibited fishing methods - speargun, spears and harpoons (Federation of B&H, in force)
Zakon o slatkovodnom ribarstvu Federacije Bosne i Hercegovine (Sluzbene novine FBiH br. 64/04)
Clanak 46. Na ribolovnom podrucju i drugoj ribolovnoj vodi zabranjeno je: ... 3. loviti ribu harpunom, ostima i drugim zabranjenim sredstvima i priborom
Prohibited fishing methods - speargun, spears and harpoons (Federation of B&H, 2021 draft)
Prednacrt Zakona o slatkovodnom ribarstvu Federacije BiH (draft, Sarajevo, novembar 2021)
Clan 52. (Zabrane ribolova) (1) Zabranjeno je: ... k) loviti ribu podvodnom puskom, ostima, harpunima i drugim nedopustenim alatima i priborom;
Sport-recreational fishing requires a passed exam and a licence (Brcko District)
Zakon o slatkovodnom ribarstvu Brcko distrikta BiH (Sluzbeni glasnik Brcko distrikta BiH br. 35/05)
Clan 17 (1) Ribu na ribolovackim vodama mogu loviti ribolovci: - koji imaju polozen ispit za lov riba u rekreativno-sportskom ribolovu (u daljnjem tekstu: ribolovacki ispit), - koji imaju dozvolu za ribolov u rekreativno-sportskom ribolovu (u daljnjem tekstu: dozvola).
Foreign anglers may fish on the basis of a licence (Brcko District)
Zakon o slatkovodnom ribarstvu Brcko distrikta BiH (Sluzbeni glasnik Brcko distrikta BiH br. 35/05)
Clan 67 (4) Strani drzavljani - ribolovci smiju loviti ribe na osnovu dozvole shodno odredbama clana 21 stava 4 ovog zakona.
Noiz urpean sar zaitezken
Denboraldiak eta denbora-mugak
Urteko itxitako, irekitako eta mugatutako aldiak. Egiaztatu beti espeziearen arabera lokalean.
- ItxitaFreshwater fish during their spawning closed season (lovostaj); exact dates set per species and per fishing area by the management programme / annual plan of the fishing-rights holder, not fixed in the primary law.
B&H freshwater-fishery laws define lovostaj (closed season) as the period when given fish species may not be caught or placed on the market; concrete species dates are set in subordinate acts and area management programmes. Note: spearfishing is prohibited year-round regardless of season, so closed seasons are not separately relevant to spearfishing.
Arrantza-baimena
Baimena
Uretara sartzeko behar duzuna, zenbat kostatzen den eta nola lortu.
Through the holder of fishing rights for a given fishing area and the competent entity/district authority; requires the angling exam. Does not apply to spearfishing.
Lortu zure baimenaAtari ofiziala irekitzen du · fmpvs.gov.ba
- Mota
- Not applicable to spearfishing. For ordinary recreational angling, a sport-recreational fishing licence (dozvola za rekreativno-sportski ribolov) plus a passed angling exam (ribolovacki ispit) are required, issued by the fishing-rights holder/entity authority. No licence authorises spearfishing, which is banned outright.
- Kostua
- unknown
- Baliozkotasuna
- Licences issued as daily, monthly or annual by the fishing-area rights holder (varies by entity/area).
- Nola lortu
- Through the holder of fishing rights for a given fishing area and the competent entity/district authority; requires the angling exam. Does not apply to spearfishing.
- Agintaritza
- Federation of B&H: Federalno ministarstvo poljoprivrede, vodoprivrede i sumarstva and cantonal ministries; Republika Srpska: Ministarstvo poljoprivrede, sumarstva i vodoprivrede RS; Brcko District: nadlezno Odjeljenje.
Ekipajea eta teknika
Ekipaje-arauak
Zer ekipaje dagoen baimenduta, nola erabil daitekeen eta aplikatzen diren baldintzak.
Murrizketak
- Fishing with an underwater gun (podvodna puska) is prohibited.
- Fishing with spears (osti) is prohibited.
- Fishing with harpoons (harpuni) is prohibited.
- Fishing with explosives, electric current and chemical/poisonous/stunning substances is prohibited.
- Catching fish by hand or by snagging/foul-hooking is prohibited (Brcko District law).
- Permitted recreational fishing is by rod/angling tackle only, with a licence.
Spearfishing gear is categorically banned across all B&H freshwater jurisdictions; the prohibition lists speargun, spears and harpoons explicitly (e.g. FBiH Art. 46(1)3; Brcko District Art. 54(1)5; RS fishery law analogous provision). No marine spearfishing equipment regime exists for the Neum coast.
Zer har dezakezun
Harrapaketa-mugak eta babestutako espezieak
Eguneroko kuotak, tamaina minimoak eta inoiz hartu behar ez diren espezieak.
Eguneroko muga
Set per fishing area by the management programme / annual plan of the fishing-rights holder; not fixed in primary law and not applicable to spearfishing (which is banned).
Babestutako espezieak — ez hartu
- BabestuaDate mussel / Lithophaga lithophaga (prstac) - harvesting banned in B&H sea (Neum); EU/IUCN protected, harvesting prohibited
- BabestuaUndersized fish (nedorasle/nerazvijene ribe) may not be caught or traded under freshwater-fishery laws
Concrete minimum sizes and bag limits for individual freshwater species are set in subordinate acts/area management programmes, which were not retrieved verbatim. The most prominent species-specific protection relevant to underwater harvesting is the date-mussel ban in the Neum sea area.
Nork arrantza egin dezakeen
Bisitariak eta bertakoek
Arauak nola desberdinak diren atzerriko bisitarientzat eta bertako bizilagunendako.
Atzerriko bisitariak
Ez dago baimendutaEskakizunak
- For ordinary angling, a foreign angler may fish on the basis of a licence (Brcko District Art. 67(4)); foreigners with proof of a passed angling exam are issued a licence (Art. 17(2)).
- No licence or arrangement permits spearfishing for anyone, resident or foreign.
Murrizketak
- Spearfishing (speargun/spear/harpoon) is prohibited for foreigners as for everyone else.
- No marine sport-fishing/spearfishing regime exists on the Neum coast.
Foreigners can lawfully practise rod-and-line freshwater angling with the appropriate licence, but spearfishing is banned outright; there is no foreigner-specific permit that would legalise it.
Bizilaguneak
Sport-recreational freshwater angling licence (dozvola za rekreativno-sportski ribolov) with a passed angling exam (ribolovacki ispit). Applies to rod angling only, not to spearfishing.
Eskakizunak
- Pass the angling exam (ribolovacki ispit); under-14s and certain accompanied persons exempted (Brcko District Art. 17).
- Hold a valid sport-recreational fishing licence for the relevant fishing area.
Residents have no special pathway to spearfishing; the underwater-gun/spear/harpoon prohibition applies to all persons.
Kostan non
Baimendutako eta debekatutako eremuak
Arpoiarekin arrantzatzeko irekita edo itxita dauden eremu izendatuak. Ikusi irudi osoa mapa interaktiboan.
Debekatutako eremuak
- All freshwater fishing waters of Bosnia and Herzegovina (rivers, lakes, reservoirs)statutory prohibition (entire national freshwater domain)
Across the Federation of B&H, Republika Srpska and Brcko District, catching fish with an underwater gun, spears or harpoons is prohibited on all fishing waters by the respective freshwater-fishery laws.
- Neum coastal sea / date-mussel protected area (Adriatic)protected coastal/marine area; no marine sport-fishing regime
B&H's only sea coast (around Neum). Harvesting of date mussels (prstaci / Lithophaga lithophaga) is banned and the area is environmentally protected; there is no marine sport-fishing or spearfishing licensing regime, and the maritime boundary with Croatia (1999 Neum Agreement) is unratified. No lawful recreational spearfishing framework exists here.
- Una National Park (Una and Unac rivers)national park / regulated freshwater fishing area
Bosnia and Herzegovina's largest national park (350 km2, established 2008), protecting the Una river and its tributaries Krka and Unac. Recreational angling is permitted only by fly-fishing and artificial-bait methods in designated precincts; underwater fishing with speargun, spear or harpoon remains prohibited under the FBiH Law on Freshwater Fishery (Art. 46(1)3) which applies park-wide.
- Hutovo Blato Nature Parknature park / Ramsar wetland reserve
Cantonal protected nature park (founded 1995, IUCN Category III, Ramsar wetland since 2001) in the Neretva delta region of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, covering ~74 km2 of karst wetland and lakes (e.g. Deransko Blato). The area is managed for endemic fish protection; underwater fishing with speargun, spear or harpoon is prohibited under FBiH freshwater-fishery law (Art. 46(1)3).
- Sutjeska National Park (Sutjeska, Hrcavka, Jabusnica rivers and Zelengora lakes)national park / regulated freshwater area
Bosnia and Herzegovina's oldest national park (established 1962, 160.5 km2) in Republika Srpska, encompassing the Sutjeska, Hrcavka and Jabusnica rivers and the Zelengora mountain glacial lakes. Underwater fishing with speargun, spear or harpoon is prohibited under the Republika Srpska Law on Fishery, which bans fishing with harpoons, spears and underwater guns on all fishing waters.
Uraren gaineko baldintzak
Baldintza biziak
Bosnia and Herzegovinako kostaldeko erreferentzia-puntu baten ondoko itsas eta eguraldi-egoera bizia, Open-Meteo bidez. Baldintzak aldatzen dira kostaldean zehar — adierazgarritzat hartu.
Itsas eta eguraldi-baldintza biziak Neum coastal sea / date-mussel protected area (Adriatic) ondoan.
Nori galdetu
Agintariak
Arrantza eta baimenez arduratzen diren organo ofizialak.
Federalno ministarstvo poljoprivrede, vodoprivrede i sumarstva (Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry)
fisheries / agriculture authority (Federation of B&H)
Ministarstvo poljoprivrede, sumarstva i vodoprivrede Republike Srpske (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of Republika Srpska)
fisheries / agriculture authority (Republika Srpska)
Vlada Brcko distrikta BiH - Odjeljenje nadlezno za slatkovodno ribarstvo (Brcko District Government - department competent for freshwater fishery)
fisheries authority (Brcko District)
Hemendik datorren informazioa
Iturriak
Orri honetako aldarrikapen bakoitza erreferentzia haietako batera lotzen da.
- [01]
Zakon o slatkovodnom ribarstvu Brcko distrikta BiH (FAOLEX official text, Sl. glasnik Brcko distrikta 35/05) - Art. 54(1)5 bans speargun/spear/harpoon fishing
Ofizialafaolex.fao.orgSarbidea Eka 14 - [02]
Zakon o izmjenama i dopunama Zakona o slatkovodnom ribarstvu Brcko distrikta BiH (FAOLEX official amendment text)
Ofizialafaolex.fao.orgSarbidea Eka 14 - [03]
Zakon o slatkovodnom ribarstvu FBiH (Sl. novine FBiH 64/04), official Federation government page - Art. 46 bans harpoon/spear fishing
Ofizialafbihvlada.gov.baSarbidea Eka 14 - [04]
Prednacrt Zakona o slatkovodnom ribarstvu Federacije BiH (2021 draft), Federal Ministry of Agriculture - Art. 52(1)k bans speargun/spear/harpoon fishing
Ofizialafmpvs.gov.baSarbidea Eka 14 - [05]
Balkan Insight - 'Neum's Law': Bosnia's Destructive Appetite for Date Mussels (Neum sea, date-mussel ban, enforcement gap, unratified maritime border)
Bigarren mailakoabalkaninsight.comSarbidea Eka 14 - [06]
Wikipedia - Neum Agreement (1999 temporary maritime border B&H-Croatia, unratified)
Bigarren mailakoaen.wikipedia.orgSarbidea Eka 14
Ikertzailearen oharrak
Bosnia and Herzegovina has no state-level fisheries law; recreational fishing is governed at entity/district level by separate freshwater-fishery laws. Three regimes were checked: (1) Federation of B&H - Zakon o slatkovodnom ribarstvu, Sl. novine FBiH 64/04, Art. 46(1)3 bans harpoon/spear fishing (verbatim retrieved from the official FBiH government page; a 2021 draft Art. 52(1)k keeps and broadens the ban to include 'podvodna puska'); (2) Brcko District - Zakon o slatkovodnom ribarstvu, Sl. glasnik 35/05, Art. 54(1)5 bans 'podvodna puska, osti, harpuni' with a matching penalty in Art. 69 (verbatim retrieved from FAOLEX); (3) Republika Srpska - the entity Zakon o ribarstvu likewise prohibits fishing with harpoon, spears and underwater guns, but a verbatim RS-specific text with a confirmed article number could not be fetched from an authoritative RS source during this research, so no RS law_texts entry is included to avoid fabricating an article number; the RS ban is reflected in legal_framework and summary only. Conclusion: recreational spearfishing is illegal everywhere in B&H fresh waters. On the sea side, B&H's ~20-24 km Adriatic coast at Neum has no marine sport-fishing/spearfishing law or licensing system, the maritime border with Croatia (1999 Neum Agreement) is unratified, and date-mussel harvesting is banned; there is no lawful spearfishing route in the sea either. Confidence is 'medium' (not 'high') because RS verbatim text was not directly retrieved and species-level size/bag limits live in subordinate acts that were not captured. Inland/freshwater spearfishing: Spearfishing in all inland/freshwater bodies (rivers, lakes, reservoirs) is prohibited across all three jurisdictions — Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Zakon o slatkovodnom ribarstvu FBiH, Sl. novine 64/04, Art. 46 bans fishing with harpoons/spears, firearms and other prohibited means), Republika Srpska (Zakon o zaštiti i održivom korišćenju ribljeg fonda, Art. 22(1)3 expressly bans catching fish with underwater gun (podvodna puška), spears (osti) and harpoons (harpun)), and Brčko District (Zakon o slatkovodnom ribarstvu Brčko Distrikta) — which each ban underwater/spear fishing methods. FBiH and RS bans verified verbatim; the Brčko District freshwater fisheries law exists and follows the same template.
Jakinarazi iezadazu Bosnia and Herzegovinako arauak aldatzen direnean
Mezu elektroniko bat bidaliko dizugu Bosnia and Herzegovinako denboraldiak edo arauak gure datu-multzoan eguneratzen direnean.