SpearfishingMap

Cuba

Americas · Caribbean

Spearfishing (pesca submarina) is legal in Cuba as a sub-category of recreational fishing (pesca recreativa), but it is tightly restricted by Ley No. 129/2019 (Ley de Pesca) and its Regulation (Decreto No. 1/2019). It may only be practised on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, only in the designated maritime areas of Chapter V of the Decree, and only by free-diving (apnea) with spring/rubber, pneumatic or pneumatic-oil spearguns and harpoons, in single units. The use of artificial breathing equipment (scuba) for spearfishing is prohibited, and competitive spearfishing events are banned nationwide. A personal, non-transferable annual spearfishing licence is required (issued by the Oficina Nacional de Inspeccion Estatal of the Ministry of the Food Industry); applicants must be at least 17 years old. Catch is for personal/family consumption only, not for profit. Certain species are reserved for state commercial fishing (e.g. spiny lobster Panulirus argus, queen conch Lobatus gigas) and others are fully protected (e.g. sea turtles, manatee, black coral). Spearfishing is also prohibited inside marine protected areas / national parks such as Jardines de la Reina.

Restricted
Affidabilità dei datiAffidabilità alta

Ultimo aggiornamento Giugno 14, 2026

Quadro normativo di riferimento

  • §Ley No. 129/2019 "Ley de Pesca" (National Assembly, in force from 7 February 2020)
  • §Decreto No. 1/2019 "Reglamento de la Ley 129 Ley de Pesca" (Council of Ministers)
  • §Resolucion 18/2020 of the Ministry of the Food Industry (procedure for granting fishing authorisations)
  • §Replaced Decreto-Ley No. 164/1996 "Reglamento de Pesca"
Licenza obbligatoria
Obbligatoria
Fucile subacqueo
Consentito
Autorespiratore
Vietato
Stranieri
Ammessi
Max aste/arpioni
1

La legge, integrale

Testi legali

Le esatte disposizioni di legge e regolamentari che disciplinano la pesca subacquea qui, citate come pubblicate, con un link a ogni fonte ufficiale.

01Article 14, point 3Cuba · national

Definition of recreational fishing including spearfishing

Ley No. 129/2019 "Ley de Pesca"

ESOriginale

3. La pesca recreativa es aquella mediante la que se produce la captura de organismos acuaticos con fines recreativos o de esparcimiento, incluye la pesca submarina.

02Article 16Cuba · national

Spearfishing days, allowed gear and free-diving requirement

Decreto No. 1/2019 "Reglamento de la Ley 129 Ley de Pesca"

ESOriginale

Articulo 16. La pesca submarina solo puede practicarse los sabados, domingos y dias feriados, en las aguas maritimas que se consignan en el Capitulo V del presente Decreto y mediante buceo a pulmon libre y con escopetas de liga o resorte, oleoneumaticas y arpon, siempre en cantidades unitarias.

03Article 17Cuba · national

Prohibition of competitive spearfishing events

Decreto No. 1/2019 "Reglamento de la Ley 129 Ley de Pesca"

ESOriginale

Articulo 17. Se prohibe la celebracion de cualquier tipo de evento competitivo relacionado con la pesca submarina en el territorio nacional.

04Article 18Cuba · national

Recreational/sports catch is for personal consumption, not for profit

Decreto No. 1/2019 "Reglamento de la Ley 129 Ley de Pesca"

ESOriginale

Articulo 18. El producto de la pesca deportiva y de la recreativa se destina, fundamentalmente, al consumo personal o familiar y no puede utilizarse con fines de lucro.

05Article 5Cuba · national

Minimum age of 17 to obtain a fishing authorisation

Decreto No. 1/2019 "Reglamento de la Ley 129 Ley de Pesca"

ESOriginale

Articulo 5. Para solicitar una autorizacion de pesca es requisito indispensable, en el caso de personas naturales, que el solicitante tenga cumplidos los diecisiete (17) anos de edad.

06Article 41Cuba · national

Spearfishing licence is a class of recreational fishing licence

Resolucion 18/2020 "Procedimiento para el otorgamiento de autorizaciones de Pesca"

ESOriginale

Articulo 41. Dentro de la clasificacion de pesca recreativa se encuentra la licencia de pesca submarina.

07Article 43Cuba · national

Spearfishing licence for Cuban nationals and permanent residents - fees

Resolucion 18/2020 "Procedimiento para el otorgamiento de autorizaciones de Pesca"

ESOriginale

Articulo 43. La licencia de pesca submarina para personas naturales cubanas y extranjeras residentes permanentes se emite anualmente conforme a las modalidades y tarifas siguientes: a) ... Licencias territoriales (provinciales) cien pesos (100.00 CUP); y b) ... Licencias nacionales doscientos pesos (200.00 CUP).

08Article 44Cuba · national

Spearfishing licence for temporary-resident foreigners - fees

Resolucion 18/2020 "Procedimiento para el otorgamiento de autorizaciones de Pesca"

ESOriginale

Articulo 44. La licencia de pesca submarina para personas naturales extranjeras residentes temporales se emite anualmente conforme a las modalidades y tarifas siguientes: a) ... Licencias territoriales (provinciales) cien pesos (100.00 CUC); y b) ... Licencias nacionales doscientos pesos convertibles (200.00 CUC).

09Article 45Cuba · national

Spearfishing licence is personal and non-transferable

Resolucion 18/2020 "Procedimiento para el otorgamiento de autorizaciones de Pesca"

ESOriginale

Articulo 45. La licencia de pesca submarina es de caracter personal e intransferible en todos los casos.

10Article 32, point 16Cuba · national

Spearfishing-related fishing violation (illegal days, zones, gear, scuba)

Decreto No. 1/2019 "Reglamento de la Ley 129 Ley de Pesca"

ESOriginale

16. Practicar la pesca submarina en dias y en zonas no autorizados, asi como utilizar equipos de respiracion artificial o escopetas que no sean las permitidas.

11Article 32, point 3Cuba · national

Species reserved exclusively for state commercial fishing (cannot be speared)

Decreto No. 1/2019 "Reglamento de la Ley 129 Ley de Pesca"

ESOriginale

3. Capturar, extraer, desembarcar, transportar, procesar o comercializar, sin la correspondiente autorizacion del Ministerio de la Industria Alimentaria, especies destinadas exclusivamente a la pesca comercial estatal tales como: a) langosta (Panulirus argus); b) cangrejo moro (Menippe mercenaria); ... i) cobo (Lobatus gigas).

12Article 32, point 2Cuba · national

Protected / threatened species that may not be captured

Decreto No. 1/2019 "Reglamento de la Ley 129 Ley de Pesca"

ESOriginale

2. Capturar, extraer, desembarcar, transportar, procesar y comercializar ... especies hidrobiologicas en regimen especial de proteccion, amenazadas o en peligro de extincion tales como: a) Manati (Trichechus manatus); b) delfin (Turciops truncatus); ... f) carey (Erectmochelys imbricata); g) tortuga verde (Chelonia mydas); h) caguama (Caretta caretta); i) tinglado (Dermochelys coriacea); j) coral negro (Antipatharia sp.) ...

13Article 31 (Chapter V, Zonas de Pesca)Cuba · national

Maritime areas given preference to sports/recreational fishing (spearfishing zones), with coordinates

Decreto No. 1/2019 "Reglamento de la Ley 129 Ley de Pesca"

ESOriginale

Articulo 31. Se otorga preferencia a las pescas deportiva, la recreativa y a la comercial de autoconsumo social, en las areas citadas en el Anexo 2 del presente, constituidas por las aguas maritimas, comprendidas entre los siguientes tramos del litoral: 1. Desde Punta Gobernadora (Latitud 23 00'08,12" y Longitud 83 13'20,49") hasta la Punta de la Peninsula de Hicacos (Latitud 23 08'30,36" y Longitud 81 19'02,19"); 2. Desde la Punta de Practicos (Latitud 21 37'08,32" y Longitud 77 05'12,10") hasta la Punta de Maisi; 3. Desde la Punta de Maisi hasta Cabo Cruz; 4. Desde el Cabo de San Antonio hasta el Cabo Frances; 5. Desde Playa Giron hasta la Punta de Maria Aguilar.

Quando puoi immergerti

Stagioni e restrizioni temporali

Periodi di chiusura, apertura e restrizione nel corso dell'anno. Conferma sempre localmente le chiusure specifiche per specie.

  • LimitataAll spearfishing (pesca submarina) nationwide

    Spearfishing may be practised ONLY on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays (sabados, domingos y dias feriados), per Article 16 of Decreto No. 1/2019. On all other days it is prohibited.

  • ChiusaSpecies under temporary closed seasons (epoca de veda) set by ministerial resolution

    The Ley de Pesca (Art. 32.8 of the Reglamento) prohibits capturing any species during its closed season (epoca de veda). Specific veda dates per species are fixed by separate resolutions of the Ministry of the Food Industry and are not enumerated in the Ley/Reglamento text; exact dates were not retrieved from a primary source.

Permesso di pescare

Licenza

Cosa ti serve per poter entrare in acqua, quanto costa e come ottenerla.

Licenza obbligatoriatramite Oficina Nacional de Inspeccion Estatal (ONIE), Ministerio de la Industria Alimentaria (MINAL)

Apply to the Oficina Nacional de Inspeccion Estatal of the Ministry of the Food Industry providing identity data and home address (Art. 42). Applicant must be at least 17 years old (Art. 5) and have no fishing-regime violations in the previous 5 years (Art. 21).

Ottieni la tua licenza

Apre il portale ufficiale · gacetaoficial.gob.cu

Licenza obbligatoria
Tipo
Licencia de pesca submarina (spearfishing licence), a class of recreational fishing licence; personal and non-transferable; territorial (provincial) or national.
Costo
Cuban nationals & permanent residents: 100 CUP (provincial) / 200 CUP (national). Temporary-resident foreigners: 100 CUC (provincial) / 200 CUC (national). Per Arts. 43-44 of Resolucion 18/2020.
Validità
One calendar year (January to December); issued annually.
Come ottenerla
Apply to the Oficina Nacional de Inspeccion Estatal of the Ministry of the Food Industry providing identity data and home address (Art. 42). Applicant must be at least 17 years old (Art. 5) and have no fishing-regime violations in the previous 5 years (Art. 21).
Autorità
Oficina Nacional de Inspeccion Estatal (ONIE), Ministerio de la Industria Alimentaria (MINAL)

Attrezzatura e tecnica

Regole sull'attrezzatura

Quale attrezzatura è consentita, come può essere usata e le condizioni associate.

Fucile subacqueoConsentito
AutorespiratoreVietato
Max aste/arpioni1

Restrizioni

  • Only free-diving (buceo a pulmon libre / apnea) is permitted; artificial breathing equipment (scuba / escafandra) is prohibited for spearfishing (Reglamento Art. 16; violation under Art. 32.16).
  • Permitted weapons: rubber/spring-band spearguns (escopetas de liga o resorte), pneumatic / pneumatic-oil spearguns (oleoneumaticas) and harpoons (arpon), always in single units (cantidades unitarias).
  • Spearguns other than those permitted are illegal (Art. 32.16).
  • Mass fishing gear (nasas, palangres, gillnets, chinchorros), chemical substances and explosives are prohibited (Reglamento Art. 15.2 of the Ley; Art. 32.5).

Spearfishing is by definition free-dive only in Cuba. 'Cantidades unitarias' means a single speargun/harpoon per diver.

Cosa puoi prelevare

Limiti di cattura e specie protette

Quote giornaliere, taglie minime e specie che non devono mai essere prelevate.

Limite giornaliero

Not specified as a numeric daily bag limit in the Ley/Reglamento; the Minister of the Food Industry sets permissible species and quantities by resolution (Reglamento Art. 19). Catch is restricted to personal/family consumption, no commercial use (Art. 18).

Specie protette — non prelevare

  • ProtettaManati (Trichechus manatus)
  • ProtettaDelfin (Tursiops truncatus)
  • ProtettaCocodrilo (Crocodylus sp.)
  • ProtettaCaiman (Caiman crocodylus)
  • ProtettaCarey / hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)
  • ProtettaTortuga verde / green turtle (Chelonia mydas)
  • ProtettaCaguama / loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta)
  • ProtettaTinglado / leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)
  • ProtettaCoral negro / black coral (Antipatharia sp.)
  • ProtettaManjuari (Atractosteus tristoechus)
  • ProtettaCobo / queen conch (Lobatus gigas) - reserved for state commercial fishing
  • ProtettaLangosta / spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) - reserved for state commercial fishing
  • ProtettaCangrejo moro / stone crab (Menippe mercenaria) - reserved for state commercial fishing

Species in Art. 32.2 are fully protected (cannot be taken at all). Species in Art. 32.3 (notably spiny lobster and queen conch) are reserved exclusively for state commercial fishing and may not be taken by recreational spearfishers without specific authorisation. Capturing undersize/oversize specimens is a violation (Art. 32.21).

Chi può pescare

Visitatori e residenti

Come le regole differiscono per i visitatori stranieri e i residenti locali.

Visitatori stranieri

Consentito

Licenza speciale obbligatoria

Requisiti

  • Be at least 17 years old (Reglamento Art. 5).
  • Obtain an annual spearfishing licence (licencia de pesca submarina): temporary-resident foreigners pay 100 CUC (provincial) or 200 CUC (national) per Resolucion 18/2020 Art. 44; permanent-resident foreigners are charged in CUP like Cuban nationals (Art. 43).
  • Provide identity data and home address (Art. 42).
  • No fishing-regime violations in the previous 5 years (Art. 21).

Restrizioni

  • Same day/zone/gear restrictions as nationals: Sat/Sun/holidays only, designated maritime areas only, free-diving only, no scuba.
  • Catch for personal/family consumption only, no commercial use.
  • Cannot target species reserved for state commercial fishing (lobster, conch, etc.) or protected species.

Foreign tourists in practice usually spearfish/dive through licensed Cuban operators; tourist diving in marine parks (e.g. Jardines de la Reina) is non-extractive. Currency note: Cuba formally unified its currency (eliminating CUC) in 2021; fee figures here are the verbatim 2020 regulation values and may now be applied in CUP/equivalent.

Residenti

Licencia de pesca submarina (provincial 100 CUP or national 200 CUP), annual, personal and non-transferable.

Requisiti

  • At least 17 years old.
  • Identity data and home address.
  • No fishing-regime violations in the prior 5 years.

Vantaggi

  • Lower CUP-denominated fees than the CUC fees historically charged to temporary-resident foreigners.
  • National licence allows spearfishing in the designated maritime areas of any province; provincial licence is limited to the issuing province.

Cuban nationals and permanent-resident foreigners are treated alike for spearfishing licence fees (Art. 43).

Dove sulla costa

Zone consentite e vietate

Aree denominate aperte o chiuse alla pesca subacquea. Vedi il quadro completo sulla mappa interattiva.

Aree consentite

Aree vietate

  • Four large coastal stretches over the submarine platform to the 200 m isobath where state commercial fishing is given preference: Cabo Frances-Playa Giron; Punta de Maria Aguilar-Cabo Cruz; Punta de Practicos-Punta de Hicacos; Cabo de San Antonio-Punta Gobernadora. Recreational/spearfishing here requires specific authorisation in the licence; fishing in these zones without it is a violation (Art. 32.12).

  • Parque Nacional Jardines de la Reinanational park / marine reserve (no-take)

    Large no-take marine reserve / national park off Cuba's south-eastern coast (protected since 1996); fishing including spearfishing is prohibited. Catch-and-release fly-fishing and diving are managed by concession.

  • UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and national park at Cuba's western tip protecting staghorn coral and reef habitat; a managed marine protected area where extractive fishing such as spearfishing is restricted/prohibited inside park boundaries.

  • Within fishing zones, the Ministry may delimit areas where fishing is limited or prohibited for reasons of national defence or environmental protection, agreed with the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the environment ministry (CITMA).

Condizioni in acqua

Condizioni in tempo reale

Istantanea marina e meteo in tempo reale vicino a un punto di riferimento costiero in Cuba, da Open-Meteo. Le condizioni variano lungo la costa — considerale indicative.

Condizioni marine e meteo in tempo reale vicino a Punta Gobernadora to Punta de la Peninsula de Hicacos (north-west coast).

Condizioni

A chi rivolgersi

Autorità

Gli enti ufficiali responsabili della pesca e delle licenze.

  • Ministerio de la Industria Alimentaria (MINAL)

    fisheries authority (governing ministry for fishing activity)

  • Oficina Nacional de Inspeccion Estatal (ONIE)

    fisheries inspection / licensing authority (subordinate to MINAL)

  • Tropas Guardafronteras (Border Guard, Ministry of the Interior)

    maritime enforcement authority

  • Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnologia y Medio Ambiente (CITMA)

    environment ministry (marine protected areas)

Da dove provengono

Fonti

Ogni affermazione su questa pagina risale a uno di questi riferimenti.

  1. [01]

    Gaceta Oficial No. 11 Ordinaria (7 Feb 2020): Ley No. 129/2019 Ley de Pesca, Decreto No. 1/2019 Reglamento, and Resolucion 18/2020

    Ufficiale
    gacetaoficial.gob.cuConsultato il Giu 14
  2. [02]

    Ley de Pesca (PDF) - Parlamento Cubano

    Ufficiale
    parlamentocubano.gob.cuConsultato il Giu 14
  3. [03]

    Ley No. 129/2019 - Ley de Pesca (ECOLEX / FAO legal database)

    Ufficiale
    ecolex.orgConsultato il Giu 14
  4. [04]

    Dan a conocer las prohibiciones de la Ley de Pesca de Cuba (CiberCuba)

    Secondaria
    cibercuba.comConsultato il Giu 14
  5. [05]

    Asamblea Nacional aprueba primera Ley de Pesca de la Republica (Cubadebate)

    Secondaria
    cubadebate.cuConsultato il Giu 14
  6. [06]

    Marine protected areas in Cuba (Environmental Defense Fund)

    Secondaria
    edf.orgConsultato il Giu 14
  7. [07]

    Jardines de la Reina National Park (Marine Conservation Institute - Blue Parks)

    Secondaria
    marine-conservation.orgConsultato il Giu 14

Note dei ricercatori

Primary legal source is Cuba's official Gaceta Oficial No. 11 of 7 February 2020, which publishes Ley No. 129/2019 (Ley de Pesca), Decreto No. 1/2019 (its Reglamento) and Resolucion 18/2020 (licensing procedure). All verbatim law_texts were extracted from that PDF (pdftotext); Spanish accents/diacritics were normalised to ASCII for storage but otherwise the wording is exact. Key takeaways for spearfishers: (1) spearfishing is legal but only on Saturdays/Sundays/public holidays; (2) free-diving only - scuba/artificial breathing apparatus is banned; (3) only single-unit spring, pneumatic or harpoon spearguns allowed; (4) an annual personal licence (min age 17) is required; (5) catch is for personal/family use only - no sale and no competitions; (6) spiny lobster and queen conch are reserved for state fishing and may not be taken; sea turtles, manatee, black coral etc. are fully protected; (7) marine national parks such as Jardines de la Reina and Guanahacabibes are no-take/restricted. Species-specific closed-season (veda) dates and any numeric bag limits are set by separate MINAL resolutions and were not retrieved verbatim, so seasons[] for species and catch_limits.daily_limit are left general; confidence high overall for the framework, medium for exact current fees (currency was unified in 2021, replacing CUC).

Resta aggiornatoAccesso anticipato

Avvisami quando cambiano le regole di Cuba

Ti invieremo un'email quando le stagioni o le normative di Cuba verranno aggiornate nel nostro dataset.

Avvisami riguardo a

Niente spam — solo avvisi di cambiamento. Disiscriviti quando vuoi. Non vendiamo mai la tua email.