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.
Dernière mise à jour juin 23, 2026
Cadre réglementaire
- §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 loi, verbatim
Textes juridiques
Les dispositions législatives et réglementaires exactes qui régissent la chasse sous-marine ici, citées telles que publiées, avec un lien vers chaque source officielle.
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.
Quand vous pouvez plonger
Saisons et restrictions temporelles
Périodes de fermeture, d'ouverture et de restriction tout au long de l'année. Confirmez toujours localement les fermetures propres à chaque espèce.
Aucune fermeture saisonnière enregistrée — vérifiez localement avant de plonger.
Autorisation de pêcher
Licence
Ce dont vous avez besoin pour être autorisé dans l'eau, ce que cela coûte et comment l'obtenir.
- Autorité
- National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA); Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL)
Matériel et technique
Règles d'équipement
Quel matériel est autorisé, comment il peut être utilisé et les conditions associées.
Restrictions
- 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).
Ce que vous pouvez prélever
Limites de capture et espèces protégées
Quotas journaliers, tailles minimales et espèces qui ne doivent jamais être prélevées.
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.
Qui peut pêcher
Visiteurs et résidents
Comment les règles diffèrent pour les visiteurs étrangers et les résidents locaux.
Visiteurs étrangers
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.
Résidents
No resident-specific fishing or spearfishing licensing framework was found. Inland subsistence fishing is largely informal and unregulated.
Où sur la côte
Zones autorisées et interdites
Zones nommées ouvertes ou fermées à la chasse sous-marine. Voir l'image complète sur la carte interactive.
Zones interdites
- 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.
Conditions sur l'eau
Conditions en direct
Aperçu marin et météo en direct près d'un point de référence côtier en Afghanistan, fourni par Open-Meteo. Les conditions varient le long de la côte — à considérer comme indicatives.
Conditions marines et météo en direct près de Band-e-Amir National Park.
À qui s'adresser
Autorités
Les organismes officiels responsables de la pêche et des licences.
National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA)
environment authority
Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL)
agriculture and fisheries authority
D'où cela provient
Sources
Chaque affirmation sur cette page renvoie à l'une de ces références.
- [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)
Officiellefaolex.fao.orgConsulté le juin 23 - [02]
Environment Law - ECOLEX/FAOLEX record (LEX-FAOC185430): gazette no./date, 78 articles / 9 chapters, categories = wild species, protected areas, biodiversity (NOT fisheries)
Officielleecolex.orgConsulté le juin 23 - [03]
Environmental Law of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Environment Law 2007) - secondary HTML rendering, corroborates Articles 47-49
Secondaireafghan-web.comConsulté le juin 23 - [04]
A Guide to Afghanistan's 2007 Environment Law (UNEP / OHCHR)
Officielleohchr.orgConsulté le juin 14 - [05]
No Fishing with Hand Grenades in Afghanistan's New National Park (Band-e-Amir) - National Parks Traveler
Secondairenationalparkstraveler.orgConsulté le juin 14 - [06]
Band-e Amir National Park - Wikipedia (establishment, coordinates, management)
Secondaireen.wikipedia.orgConsulté le juin 14 - [07]
Coldwater Fish and Fisheries in Afghanistan - FAO (limited fishing activity, no catch records)
Officiellefao.orgConsulté le juin 14 - [08]
Afghanistan's first-ever list of protected species (NEPA, 2009) - Newswise
Secondairenewswise.comConsulté le juin 14
Notes du chercheur
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).
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