Dominican Republic
Americas · Caribbean
Recreational spearfishing (pesca submarina) is legal in the Dominican Republic but regulated by Law 307-04 (which created CODOPESCA, the Dominican Council for Fisheries and Aquaculture) and by ministerial resolutions/presidential decrees. Key restrictions: in the national fishing reserve zone (waters within 100 km / 54 nm of the coast, where all industrial fishing is banned), the use of air compressors for dive fishing and nighttime spearfishing are prohibited (Art. 64). A fishing licence from CODOPESCA is required to fish commercially or for profit; sport/recreational fishing is also licensed. Compressor/hookah-assisted dive fishing is explicitly prohibited in the reserved zone (Art. 64), so spearfishing is in practice carried out by freediving; the law does not explicitly ban self-contained scuba per se. Several species important to spearfishers are protected: sharks and manta rays are under permanent veda; parrotfish, surgeonfish, angelfish, butterflyfish and sea cucumbers were under a national two-year moratorium under Decree 281-23 (2023-2025); lobster and conch (lambi) have closed seasons and minimum sizes. Spearfishing is prohibited inside marine protected areas / national parks without a permit from the Ministry of Environment.
Ultimo aggiornamento Giugno 16, 2026
Quadro normativo di riferimento
- §Ley No. 307-04 que crea el Consejo Dominicano de Pesca y Acuicultura (CODOPESCA), enacted 7 January 2004
- §Decreto No. 281-23 (2023) - two-year national moratorium (veda) on reef herbivorous fish families (parrotfish, surgeonfish, angelfish, butterflyfish) and sea cucumbers, 2023-2025
- §Resolution 023/2017 (Ministry of Environment) - moratorium on capture and commercialization of all sharks, rays, parrotfish and sea urchins
- Licenza obbligatoria
- Obbligatoria
- Fucile subacqueo
- Consentito
- Stranieri
- Ammessi
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.
Prohibitions in the reserved fishing zone (compressors and nighttime spearfishing)
Ley No. 307-04 (CODOPESCA)
ARTICULO 64.- En las zonas de pesca reservada establecidas en la presente ley, queda prohibido: a) El uso de palangres horizontales de superficie o media agua, derivantes o fijos, con mas de 100 anzuelos o 5 Km. de longitud; b) El uso de redes de enmalle de superficie o media agua, la utilizacion de compresores para la pesca de buceo y el ejercicio de la pesca submarina nocturna; c) La utilizacion de compresores para la pesca de buceo.
Minimum capture sizes for lobster
Ley No. 307-04 (CODOPESCA)
ARTICULO 52.- Las tallas minimas de captura seran de 10cm. de longitud abdominal para la langosta pinta (Panulirus guttatus), de 18 cm. de longitud abdominal para la langosta caribe (Panulirus argus). PARRAFO. Las tallas minimas podran ser modificadas por el CODOPESCA sobre la base de evidencias cientificas disponibles.
Minimum weight/size for queen conch (lambi) possession, processing and sale
Ley No. 307-04 (CODOPESCA)
ARTICULO 59.- Se prohibe la posesion, procesamiento y comercializacion de los ejemplares de lambi cuyo peso sea menor de 227 gramos de carne (0.5 libras) y/o menos de 20 cm. de longitud desde el apice al canal sifonal de su concha.
Prohibition on capture of juvenile queen conch (futay and cotorron)
Ley No. 307-04 (CODOPESCA)
ARTICULO 58.- Queda prohibida la captura de los juveniles de strombus gigas denominados futay y cotorron.
Reserved fishing zone (within 100 km of coast) - reserved for subsistence, artisanal, sport and scientific fishing
Ley No. 307-04 (CODOPESCA)
ARTICULO 41.- Las pesquerias en las aguas dulces, asi como en las aguas marinas de la Republica Dominicana en un radio de 100Km. de la costa (54 millas nauticas), con excepcion de los bancos de La Plata y de La Navidad, se reservaran a la pesca de subsistencia, artesanal, deportiva y cientifica, quedando prohibida en dicha zona toda actividad pesquera industrial.
Fishing licence requirement (artisanal, industrial, sport, scientific)
Ley No. 307-04 (CODOPESCA)
ARTICULO 15.- Para el ejercicio de la actividad pesquera y explotacion de los recursos bioticos comerciales y con fines de lucro en las aguas de la Republica Dominicana sera necesario la obtencion de una licencia de pesca y un permiso de inspeccion segun el caso: 1. Las personas fisicas o juridicas domiciliadas en la Republica que se dediquen a la pesca artesanal, industrial, deportiva o cientifica deberan estar en posesion de la correspondiente licencia de pesca, expedida por el CODOPESCA; (...) 3. Las licencias de pesca tendran una validez de dos (2) anos y seran renovables por sucesivos periodos iguales. Cada licencia expresara la actividad pesquera para la que se concede, los tipos de artes utilizables y el lugar de operacion. (...) 5. La concesion y renovacion de las licencias de pesca estaran sometidas al pago de la tarifa que reglamentariamente se determine ante los productores y el Estado; (...) 7. Las licencias de pesca son intransferibles, no pudiendo ser utilizadas mas que por las personas que figuran como titulares de las mismas.
Fishing prohibited inside natural protected areas without permit
Ley No. 307-04 (CODOPESCA)
ARTICULO 43.- En las aguas marinas o dulces que se encuentren dentro de los limites de areas naturales protegidas, toda actividad pesquera debera contar con el permiso correspondiente de la Secretaria de Estado de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, o institucion rectora de las areas protegidas y debera ser coordinada con el CODOPESCA, quien otorgara la licencia de pesca.
Prohibition of hooks and spears for lobster capture
Ley No. 307-04 (CODOPESCA)
ARTICULO 51.- Queda prohibido el uso de ganchos y arpones para la pesca y captura de langostas en las aguas territoriales de la Republica Dominicana.
Serious infractions - compressors / nighttime spearfishing / fishing without licence
Ley No. 307-04 (CODOPESCA)
ARTICULO 82.- Constituyen infracciones graves las siguientes conductas: (...) Pescar sin licencia o permiso de embarcacion o realizar instalaciones de acuicultura sin la previa autorizacion del organismo competente; Utilizar palangres de mas de 250 anzuelos, usar compresores para la pesca de buceo o realizar pesca submarina nocturna en la zona de pesca; (...)
CODOPESCA power to set vedas, size and quantity limits; ban on capture of gravid/spawning specimens
Ley No. 307-04 (CODOPESCA)
ARTICULO 61.- El CODOPESCA establecera las prohibiciones, Vedas, limitaciones de tamano y cantidad de las capturas y otras medidas que sean necesarias para la conservacion y proteccion de los recursos biologicos acuaticos. En todo caso, queda prohibida la captura de ejemplares en gestacion, es decir, con huevos adheridos, o en epoca de desove.
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.
- ChiusaLobster (langosta, Panulirus argus / Panulirus guttatus)Mar 1 – Giu 30
Annual closed season (veda) for lobster. Capture, sale, consumption and possession prohibited during this period. Minimum sizes also apply (Art. 52: 10 cm abdominal length for Panulirus guttatus, 18 cm for Panulirus argus).
- ChiusaCrab (cangrejo)Mar 1 – Giu 30
Annual closed season (veda) for crab.
- ChiusaQueen conch (lambi, Strombus gigas)Lug 1 – Ott 31
Annual closed season (veda) for queen conch. Minimum size/weight limits also apply (Art. 59: minimum 227 g of meat / 0.5 lb and/or 20 cm shell length).
- ChiusaEel (anguila)Apr 1 – Ott 14
Annual closed season (veda) for eel.
- ChiusaRiver crab (jaiba de rio)Giu 1 – Set 30
Annual closed season (veda) for river crab.
- ChiusaSharks (all species) and manta rays (all species)Gen 1 – Dic 31
Permanent veda (veda permanente), in force year-round (01-01 to 12-31, every year): capture of all shark and manta ray species is prohibited at all times nationwide. This is not a seasonal closure but a standing prohibition; the 01-01/12-31 range encodes year-round closure for date parsers.
- ChiusaReef herbivorous fish: parrotfish (pez loro/Scaridae), surgeonfish (cirujanos/Acanthuridae), angelfish (Pomacanthidae), butterflyfish (Chaetodontidae), and sea cucumbers (pepino de mar/Holothuroidea)Lug 2 – Lug 2
National two-year moratorium (veda) under Decree 281-23 banning the capture, fishing and commercialization of reef herbivorous fish families and sea cucumbers throughout the national territory. Continued earlier protections (Resolution 023/2017 and the 2021-2023 veda). Spearfishers should verify current status, as the moratorium period has elapsed and may have been renewed.
Permesso di pescare
Licenza
Cosa ti serve per poter entrare in acqua, quanto costa e come ottenerla.
Apply to CODOPESCA (Consejo Dominicano de Pesca y Acuicultura). Each licence states the fishing activity, permitted gear types and area of operation. Licences are non-transferable. In practice, charter/dive operators can arrange a recreational licence on a visitor's behalf.
Ottieni la tua licenzaApre il portale ufficiale · codopesca.gob.do
- Tipo
- Fishing licence (licencia de pesca) from CODOPESCA; sport/recreational fishing is licensed (Art. 15). Recreational/charter operators typically arrange permits for clients.
- Costo
- unknown
- Validità
- Two (2) years, renewable for successive equal periods (Art. 15.3)
- Come ottenerla
- Apply to CODOPESCA (Consejo Dominicano de Pesca y Acuicultura). Each licence states the fishing activity, permitted gear types and area of operation. Licences are non-transferable. In practice, charter/dive operators can arrange a recreational licence on a visitor's behalf.
- Autorità
- CODOPESCA (Consejo Dominicano de Pesca y Acuicultura), Ministry of Agriculture
Attrezzatura e tecnica
Regole sull'attrezzatura
Quale attrezzatura è consentita, come può essere usata e le condizioni associate.
Restrizioni
- Use of air compressors for dive fishing (compresores para la pesca de buceo, i.e. hookah/surface-supplied air) is prohibited in the reserved fishing zone (Art. 64 of Law 307-04; serious infraction under Art. 82)
- Nighttime spearfishing (pesca submarina nocturna) is prohibited in the reserved fishing zone (Art. 64 of Law 307-04; serious infraction under Art. 82)
- Use of hooks and spears (ganchos y arpones) to capture lobster is prohibited (Art. 51)
- Explosives, poisons and chemical substances are prohibited for fishing (Art. 63)
- Freediving is the accepted legal method for spearfishing; compressor/hookah-assisted spearing is explicitly prohibited in the reserved fishing zone
Law 307-04 does not set a numeric limit on spears/spearguns; spearfishing is permitted as a recreational method by freediving. Compressor-assisted ('hookah'/surface-supplied air) dive fishing and nighttime spearfishing are explicitly prohibited in the reserved fishing zone (Art. 64). The law does NOT explicitly prohibit self-contained scuba (SCUBA tanks) for spearfishing per se; it prohibits compressors/hookah air-supply. In practice the spearfishing community treats freediving as the accepted method, but the statute's explicit ban is on compressors and night spearfishing, so scuba_allowed is left as unknown rather than asserted false. The compressor ban derives from Art. 64 of Law 307-04 (reserved zone), NOT from Decree 281-23, which is a separate reef-herbivore species moratorium.
Cosa puoi prelevare
Limiti di cattura e specie protette
Quote giornaliere, taglie minime e specie che non devono mai essere prelevate.
Limite giornaliero
unknown
Taglie minime
- Caribbean spiny lobster (langosta caribe, Panulirus argus)min 18 cm
- Spotted spiny lobster (langosta pinta, Panulirus guttatus)min 10 cm
- Queen conch (lambi, Strombus gigas)min 20 cm
Specie protette — non prelevare
- ProtettaAll shark species (permanent veda)
- ProtettaAll manta ray species (permanent veda)
- ProtettaParrotfish (pez loro, Scaridae) - national moratorium (Decree 281-23, 2023-2025)
- ProtettaSurgeonfish (cirujanos, Acanthuridae) - national moratorium
- ProtettaAngelfish (peces angeles, Pomacanthidae) - national moratorium
- ProtettaButterflyfish (peces mariposa, Chaetodontidae) - national moratorium
- ProtettaSea cucumbers (pepino de mar, Holothuroidea) - national moratorium
- ProtettaBlack sea urchin (erizo negro) - prior veda 2021-2023
- ProtettaNassau grouper - on national no-take list per dive community guidance
- ProtettaJuvenile queen conch (futay and cotorron) - prohibited (Art. 58)
Minimum sizes: lobster abdominal length 18 cm (P. argus) and 10 cm (P. guttatus) per Art. 52; conch meat min 227 g (0.5 lb) and/or 20 cm shell length per Art. 59. CODOPESCA sets vedas, size and quantity limits (Art. 61-62). Capture of gravid/spawning specimens and egg-bearing females is prohibited.
Chi può pescare
Visitatori e residenti
Come le regole differiscono per i visitatori stranieri e i residenti locali.
Visitatori stranieri
ConsentitoLicenza speciale obbligatoria
Requisiti
- Recreational fishing/spearfishing licence required; charter or dive operators commonly arrange it on a visitor's behalf
- Foreign vessels must be authorized by the Navy (Marina de Guerra) and the National Drug Control Directorate and registered in an authorized port (Art. 15.2, Art. 19)
Restrizioni
- Same gear, species and zone restrictions apply as to residents (no compressors, no nighttime spearfishing, protected species, protected areas)
Law 307-04 licences are for persons domiciled in the Dominican Republic; in practice tourists access spearfishing through licensed charter/dive operators who hold or arrange the necessary permits. Foreign fishing vessels face additional Navy/anti-drug authorization requirements.
Residenti
Licencia de pesca (CODOPESCA) - artisanal, sport, scientific or industrial
Requisiti
- Be a natural or legal person domiciled in the Dominican Republic (Art. 15.1)
- Hold a valid CODOPESCA fishing licence stating activity, gear and area
- Vessel owners also need a fishing vessel permit (permiso de embarcacion pesquera, Art. 16)
Lobster and conch (lambi) capture additionally requires a specific CODOPESCA licence (Art. 53).
Dove sulla costa
Zone consentite e vietate
Aree denominate aperte o chiuse alla pesca subacquea. Vedi il quadro completo sulla mappa interattiva.
Aree consentite
Under Art. 41 of Law 307-04, fisheries in fresh waters and in marine waters within a 100 km (54 nm) radius of the coast (excepting the La Plata and La Navidad banks) are reserved for subsistence, artisanal, sport and scientific fishing; all industrial fishing is prohibited there. Recreational spearfishing (freediving) is permitted in these waters outside protected areas, subject to gear/species rules (no compressors, no nighttime spearfishing).
No use of air compressors for dive fishing; no nighttime spearfishing; licence required; species vedas and protected species apply; not inside marine protected areas without permit.
Aree vietate
- Cotubanama National Park (formerly Parque Nacional del Este)national park / marine protected area
Marine-terrestrial national park around Bayahibe / Saona Island; under Art. 43 of Law 307-04 any fishing (including spearfishing) inside protected-area limits requires a permit from the Ministry of Environment and is generally prohibited. Reported as a spearfishing no-go zone. Coordinates are the park centroid per Wikipedia.
- Parque Nacional Jaraguanational park / marine protected area
Largest marine-terrestrial protected area in the Caribbean (Pedernales Province), ~905 km2 of offshore marine habitat. Fishing inside protected-area limits requires Ministry of Environment permit; spearfishing generally prohibited.
- Samana Bay marine area (humpback whale sanctuary)marine mammal sanctuary / protected area
Marine waters of Samana Bay (associated with the Sanctuary for the Marine Mammals of the Dominican Republic / Banco de la Plata y la Navidad) where humpback whales winter; protected area where spearfishing is restricted/prohibited. Coordinates are the bay centroid per Wikipedia.
Condizioni in acqua
Condizioni in tempo reale
Istantanea marina e meteo in tempo reale vicino a un punto di riferimento costiero in Dominican Republic, da Open-Meteo. Le condizioni variano lungo la costa — considerale indicative.
Condizioni marine e meteo in tempo reale vicino a Cotubanama National Park (formerly Parque Nacional del Este).
A chi rivolgersi
Autorità
Gli enti ufficiali responsabili della pesca e delle licenze.
Consejo Dominicano de Pesca y Acuicultura (CODOPESCA)
fisheries authority
codopesca.gob.doMinisterio de Agricultura de la Republica DominicanaMinisterio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales
environment ministry
ambiente.gob.doGoverns marine protected areas and species moratoria (e.g. Resolution 023/2017)Direccion Nacional de Parques / SINAP
protected areas authority
ambiente.gob.doManages national parks and protected-area fishing permits
Da dove provengono
Fonti
Ogni affermazione su questa pagina risale a uno di questi riferimenti.
- [01]
Ley No. 307-04 que crea el Consejo Dominicano de Pesca y Acuicultura (CODOPESCA) - full text PDF
Ufficialefaolex.fao.orgConsultato il Giu 16 - [02]
CODOPESCA - Preguntas Frecuentes (closed seasons / vedas, licences)
Ufficialecodopesca.gob.doConsultato il Giu 14 - [03]
CODOPESCA official website
Ufficialecodopesca.gob.doConsultato il Giu 14 - [04]
Presidencia de la Republica - Decreto 281-23: veda de dos anos para varias especies (peces herbivoros arrecifales)
Ufficialepresidencia.gob.doConsultato il Giu 14 - [05]
Ministerio de Medio Ambiente - proteccion de especies marinas (parrotfish, sharks, rays, urchins moratorium)
Ufficialeambiente.gob.doConsultato il Giu 14 - [06]
Diario Libre - Pez loro seguira en veda por otros dos anos, hasta 2025
Secondariadiariolibre.comConsultato il Giu 14 - [07]
Spearfactor - Spearfishing the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico (practical guidance, protected areas, no-take list)
communityspearfactor.comConsultato il Giu 14 - [08]
Wikipedia - Jaragua National Park (marine protected area, coordinates)
Secondariaen.wikipedia.orgConsultato il Giu 14 - [09]
Wikipedia - Cotubanama National Park (coordinates)
Secondariaen.wikipedia.orgConsultato il Giu 16 - [10]
Wikipedia - Samana Bay (coordinates)
Secondariaen.wikipedia.orgConsultato il Giu 16
Note dei ricercatori
Spearfishing is legal by freediving but tightly regulated. Verbatim law text was extracted from the official FAOLEX PDF of Ley 307-04 via pdftotext and re-verified against the source on 2026-06-16. Minor OCR artifacts in the source PDF (e.g. 'los' rendered as '10s', 'uso' as 'us0', 'utilizacion' as 'utilizacihn', and the conjunction 'o' rendered as 'h') were normalized to standard Spanish in the quoted excerpts without changing meaning, and diacritics were omitted due to OCR limitations. NOTE on Art. 64: the apparent duplication between clause (b) and clause (c) (both referencing 'compresores para la pesca de buceo') is faithful to the official source PDF, which genuinely lists the compressor prohibition twice; it is NOT a transcription error or reconstruction. The air-compressor (hookah) ban derives from Art. 64 of Law 307-04 and applies in the reserved fishing zone; it is a serious infraction under Art. 82. It does NOT derive from Decree 281-23, which is a separate two-year reef-herbivore species moratorium. Self-contained scuba is not explicitly banned by the statute (only compressors/hookah and night spearfishing are), so scuba_allowed is recorded as unknown rather than false. The Decree 281-23 reef-herbivore moratorium (parrotfish, surgeonfish, angelfish, butterflyfish, sea cucumbers) ran 2023-2025; its renewal status after July 2025 should be re-verified directly with CODOPESCA/Ministry of Environment. Lobster (Art. 52) and conch (Art. 59) minimum sizes/weights are backed by verbatim law_texts entries. Permanent shark/manta vedas are encoded as year-round 01-01 to 12-31 closures. Protected-area coordinates (Cotubanama, Samana Bay, Jaragua) are park/bay centroids from Wikipedia, not exact spearfishing-boundary coordinates. Exact licence cost/daily bag limits were not found in official sources and are left as unknown. Confidence is medium: primary law text is fully verified from the official source, but some operational details (recreational licence pricing, current 2026 status of temporary vedas, precise MPA spearfishing boundaries) rely on secondary/community sources or are unspecified.
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