Faroe Islands
Europe · Northern Europe
Recreational spearfishing (underwater hunting) is practised and not prohibited in the Faroe Islands. There is no spearfishing-specific Faroese statute found in public sources; activity falls under the general framework for living marine resources (Act on Management of the Marine Resources, no. 161/2017) and the general rules for recreational/coastal sea fishing. Coastal and shore sea fishing is generally permitted without a permit, but local exceptions may apply. A commercial spearfishing operator (Spearfishing.fo, Tórshavn) operates legally, and the national tourism board promotes diving and spearfishing. Two general rules clearly apply to all recreational fishing: fish under 30 cm may not be kept (catch-and-release), and any fish caught must be consumed within the Faroe Islands (it may not be taken/exported home). No explicit spearfishing licensing, gear or catch-limit regime specific to underwater hunting was located, so confidence is low; divers should confirm local exceptions and protected-area boundaries before diving.
Dernière mise à jour juin 15, 2026
Cadre réglementaire
- §Act on Management of the Marine Resources (Løgtingslóg um at umsita livandi tilfeingi), no. 161/2017, in force 1 January 2018 (parts from 1 January 2020)
- §General recreational/coastal sea-fishing rules as published by Visit Faroe Islands (national tourism board) and the Faroese Fishing Association
- Licence requise
- Non requise
- Fusil harpon
- Autorisé
- Étrangers
- Bienvenus
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.
Minimum size and catch-and-release rule for recreational fishing
Recreational fishing rules (Faroe Islands)
it is not permitted to take any kind of fish under 30cm, and in this case, 'catch and release' is to be practised.
Catch must be consumed in the Faroe Islands; equipment disinfection
Recreational saltwater fishing rules (Faroe Islands)
Any fish caught must be consumed in the Faroe Islands. ... All equipment, including rods, reels, rubber waders, or lures, must be disinfected to kill fish pathogens [before arrival]. ... Coastal fishing is generally permitted, but please enquire about local exceptions.
Property of marine resources (governing fisheries reform)
Act on Management of the Marine Resources, no. 161/2017
All living marine resources in Faroese waters and those to which the Faroe Islands have rights are the property of the people of the Faroe Islands; they may never become private property and they may not be traded privately.
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.
- Type
- No permit required for recreational coastal/shore saltwater fishing (no spearfishing-specific license located). Freshwater angling requires a permit purchased locally.
- Coût
- unknown
- Validité
- unknown
- Comment l'obtenir
- For coastal sea fishing no permit is needed. For specific freshwater lakes leased by the Faroese Fishing Association (Leynavatn, Mjóuvøtn, Saksunarvatn) a fishing licence must be purchased locally; some lakes/rivers are privately owned and require the owner's permission.
- Autorité
- Faroese Fishing Association (freshwater); Ministry of Fisheries / Vörn (sea fisheries)
Matériel et technique
Règles d'équipement
Quel matériel est autorisé, comment il peut être utilisé et les conditions associées.
Restrictions
- All fishing/diving equipment (rods, reels, rubber waders, lures, and by extension wetsuits/gear) must be cleaned and disinfected before arrival in the Faroe Islands to prevent the spread of fish diseases; no veterinary certificate is required.
- No spearfishing-specific equipment rules (e.g. speargun type, scuba-while-spearfishing) were located in public Faroese sources.
Spearfishing with a speargun is practised by local and commercial operators (e.g. Spearfishing.fo, Tórshavn); no statutory prohibition on spearguns was found. Whether scuba-assisted spearfishing is permitted is unknown from available sources.
Ce que vous pouvez prélever
Limites de capture et espèces protégées
Quotas journaliers, tailles minimales et espèces qui ne doivent jamais être prélevées.
Limite journalière
unknown
General recreational rule: no fish under 30 cm may be kept (catch-and-release below this size). Anglers/divers are encouraged to catch only what they intend to eat. No spearfishing-specific bag or per-species size limits were located. Salmon, sea trout and other anadromous species are managed separately under freshwater/fishing-association rules and conservation measures.
Qui peut pêcher
Visiteurs et résidents
Comment les règles diffèrent pour les visiteurs étrangers et les résidents locaux.
Visiteurs étrangers
AutoriséeExigences
- Disinfect all fishing/diving equipment before arrival.
- Consume any catch within the Faroe Islands; catch may not be taken/exported out of the country.
- Obtain a local permit for freshwater angling where required.
Restrictions
- Fish under 30 cm must be released.
Tourists may take part in recreational sea fishing and spearfishing; the national tourism board markets diving and spearfishing experiences to visitors. No foreigner-specific spearfishing licence was identified.
Résidents
Same general recreational sea-fishing rules apply; no spearfishing-specific resident licence located.
unknown
À qui s'adresser
Autorités
Les organismes officiels responsables de la pêche et des licences.
Ministry of Fisheries (Fiskimálaráðið)
fisheries ministry
Vörn (Faroese Fisheries Inspection / Fisheries Authority)
fisheries authority
Visit Faroe Islands (national tourism board)
tourism authority
Faroese Fishing Association (freshwater angling permits)
angling association
D'où cela provient
Sources
Chaque affirmation sur cette page renvoie à l'une de ces références.
- [01]
Diving in the Faroe Islands - Visit Faroe Islands (national tourism board)
Officiellevisitfaroeislands.comConsulté le juin 15 - [02]
Saltwater fishing in the Faroe Islands - Visit Faroe Islands
Officiellevisitfaroeislands.comConsulté le juin 15 - [03]
Freshwater angling in the Faroe Islands - Visit Faroe Islands
Officiellevisitfaroeislands.comConsulté le juin 15 - [04]
Sports Fishing in Faroe Islands (30 cm minimum size rule; permitted lakes) - Guide to Faroe Islands
Secondaireguidetofaroeislands.foConsulté le juin 15 - [05]
Faroe Islands - Fishery Legislation and Administration (Act on Marine Resources, Ministry of Fisheries) - Faroese Seafood
Officiellefaroeseseafood.comConsulté le juin 15 - [06]
The Faroese Fishery Reform of 2018 (Act on Management of the Marine Resources no. 161/2017) - Faroese Seafood
Officiellefaroeseseafood.comConsulté le juin 15 - [07]
Oceans, Fisheries and Maritime Affairs - The Government of the Faroe Islands
Officiellegovernment.foConsulté le juin 15 - [08]
Spearfishing.fo - commercial spearfishing operator (Tórshavn)
communityspearfishing.foConsulté le juin 15
Notes du chercheur
The Faroe Islands is a self-governing nation within the Kingdom of Denmark with its own fisheries legislation, distinct from Denmark and the EU (it is outside the EU). No spearfishing-specific Faroese law, marine-protected-area diving ban, season, or catch-limit document was retrievable from public sources, so data_confidence is set to low. What is firmly established from official/secondary sources: (1) recreational coastal sea fishing is generally allowed without a permit; (2) spearfishing is practised and not prohibited (active commercial operator + tourism-board promotion); (3) no fish under 30 cm may be kept (catch-and-release); (4) any catch must be consumed within the Faroe Islands and may not be exported; (5) all equipment must be disinfected before arrival; (6) freshwater angling requires a local permit (named association lakes: Leynavatn, Mjóuvøtn, Saksunarvatn). The umbrella legal framework is the Act on Management of the Marine Resources (no. 161/2017), administered by the Ministry of Fisheries with enforcement by Vörn. The full verbatim Faroese statutory text was not retrieved; law_texts entries are precise English excerpts from the cited pages, with the marine-resources property clause marked translated=true. Coordinates for protected/prohibited diving zones were not found and are intentionally omitted rather than guessed. Divers should verify local exceptions and any site-specific nature-reserve or seabird-protection restrictions before spearfishing.
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