North Korea
Asia · Eastern Asia
There is no recreational or sport spearfishing regime in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). The governing instrument, the Fisheries Act (adopted 1995, amended 1999), is built entirely around state organs, enterprises and 'associates' (collectives); all marine production is conducted under national plans and there is no provision for licensing private individuals or tourists for recreational underwater fishing. The Act (Art 37) merely requires citizens to 'observe the stipulated angling regulations'. In practice the entire coastline is under military/coastal security supervision, primarily to prevent defection, so independent access to the sea by individuals (let alone with spearguns) is tightly controlled and effectively barred for the general public and foreigners. Scuba/free-diving by foreign tourists has occasionally been arranged by tour operators only with prior state permission; no spearfishing-specific rules are published. The specific list of prohibited fishing gears and methods, protected species, closed seasons and conservation areas is delegated by Art 32 to subordinate central-organ regulations that are not publicly available, so any spearfishing-specific gear rule is unknown.
Ultimo aggiornamento Giugno 23, 2026
Quadro normativo di riferimento
- §Fisheries Act of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, adopted by decision of the Supreme People's Assembly No. 49 on 18 January 1995, amended and supplemented by decree of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly No. 383 on 4 February 1999
- §Detailed Rules on the Protection and Increase of Fishery Resources (subordinate regulations, text not publicly available)
- §Fisheries Law subsequently revised in 2022 and amended again in May 2024 with strengthened penalty provisions reorganised into a separate chapter and a new administrative measure (reported as Art 50) barring boats from going to sea for eight infractions including going to sea without permission (commercial focus; full official text not publicly available — provision reported by Daily NK, 2025)
- Licenza obbligatoria
- Obbligatoria
- Stranieri
- Non consentito
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.
Title, adoption and amendment of the Fisheries Act
Fisheries Act of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Fisheries Act, Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Adopted by the decision of the Supreme People's assembly No.49, on 18 Jan.18 1995. Amended and supplemented by the decree of the standing committee of the Supreme People's Assembly No.383, on 4 February 1999.
Purpose of the Fisheries Act
Fisheries Act of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (1995, amended 1999)
Art 1. The Fisheries Act of D P R Korea shall contribute to develop the fisheries and to enhance people's livelihood by establishing rules and regulations in formation and conservation of fisheries resources, production and processing of fish products.
Citizens must observe angling regulations and may not collect protective grasses without permission
Fisheries Act of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (1995, amended 1999)
Art 37. The organs, enterprises, associates and citizen shall never collect grasses beneficial to fish conservation without permission in and around seas, rivers, reservoirs and lakes and observe the stipulated angling regulations.
Matters arranged for fisheries resources conservation (closed seasons, sizes, prohibited gear/methods)
Fisheries Act of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (1995, amended 1999)
Art 32. The central territorial environmental guidance organ shall arrange followings in connection with fisheries resources conservation. 1. Fisheries resources conservation area 2. Species of fisheries resources to be conserved 3. Conservation season of fisheries resources by species 4. Size of fisheries resources to be caught or collected 5. Prohibited fishing gears or methods
Months of fisheries resources conservation
Fisheries Act of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (1995, amended 1999)
Art 31. The state sets every April and July as the Month of fisheries resources conservation in order to conserve marine resources. During the Month of fisheries resources conservation, the relevant organs, enterprises and associates shall strengthen education relating marine resources conservation and intensify monitoring and control.
Foreign persons may not investigate resources or produce marine products in the EEZ
Fisheries Act of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (1995, amended 1999)
Art 45. Other country or person of other country shall neither investigate fisheries resources nor produce marine products in the Exclusive Economic Zone of DPR Korea. Any agreement with our country, that agreement would be applied.
Monitoring and control over citizens to observe conservation regulations
Fisheries Act of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (1995, amended 1999)
Art 46. Monitoring and control on fisheries resources conservation shall be done by the territorial environment conservation organ and the relevant monitoring and control organ. The territorial environment conservation organ and the relevant monitoring and control organ shall strictly monitor and control the organs, enterprises, associates and citizens to observe the regulation of fisheries resources conservation.
Forfeiture for unplanned/illegal marine production and accountability of individuals
Fisheries Act of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (1995, amended 1999)
Art 48. As for any marine production without national plan or any hindrance to formation and conservation of fisheries resources, the marine production shall be interrupted, the loss shall be compensated, and the illegal marine products and income gained from them, and the vessel, fishing gears and facilities used in the illegal acts shall be forfeited. Art 49. Any responsible personnel from organs, enterprises, associates or any individual citizen infringing the law, seriously affected to people's livelihood and fisheries resources shall be accountable to the administrative or penal responsibility according to the consequence of the act.
Allocation of fishing grounds is done by the state to organs, enterprises and associates
Fisheries Act of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (1995, amended 1999)
Art 20. Allocation of the fishing grounds shall be done by the territorial environmental guidance organ. The territorial environmental guidance organ shall allocate the fishing grounds to the organs, enterprises and associates which have received the production plan of marine products.
Prohibition on disposing harmful materials to seas, rivers, reservoirs and lakes
Fisheries Act of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (1995, amended 1999)
Art 40. The lean ore, unpurified waste, radio-active material, poisonous material, dirt or leftovers which are liable to be harmful to fisheries resources shall never be disposed to seas, rivers, reservoirs and lakes.
Registration of all marine-producing entities and vessels; vessels may not be lent or transferred to any citizen without permission
Fisheries Act of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (1995, amended 1999)
Art 44. The territorial environmental guidance organ and vessel registering organ shall register all the organs, enterprises and associates producing marine products and all the fishing vessels without omission, and regularly collect their alterations. Fishing vessels shall neither be lent nor transferred to other organ, enterprise, associates or citizen without permission.
Amended Fisheries Law (2024/2025): newly added administrative measure barring boats from going to sea, incl. for going to sea without permission (as reported by Daily NK)
Fisheries Law of the DPRK, amended May 2024 (full text not publicly available; provision summarised by Daily NK, 2025)
[Secondary-source paraphrase, not a verbatim statute quote.] According to Daily NK (which reports having obtained the amended law text), the May 2024 amendment to the Fisheries Law added a new provision (described as Article 50) under which fishing boats can be banned from going to sea for eight categories of infraction, including 'going to sea without permission' and 'refusing lawful crackdowns or surveys by supervisory officials'; the amendment also reorganised penalties into a separate chapter and raised fines (e.g. illegal export now fined ten times the value of the goods). The underlying official statutory text was not publicly retrievable.
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 marine fisheries resources nationwideApr 1 – Apr 30
April is designated a 'Month of fisheries resources conservation' (Art 31), during which monitoring and control are intensified. The Act does not state catch is closed, but conservation control is heightened.
- LimitataAll marine fisheries resources nationwideLug 1 – Lug 31
July is designated a 'Month of fisheries resources conservation' (Art 31), during which monitoring and control are intensified.
Permesso di pescare
Licenza
Cosa ti serve per poter entrare in acqua, quanto costa e come ottenerla.
Not obtainable by private individuals or tourists; access to the sea for fishing is granted only to authorised state-organised entities and is controlled by coastal security/military authorities.
Ottieni la tua licenzaApre il portale ufficiale · faolex.fao.org
- Tipo
- No recreational spearfishing licence exists. Lawful fishing is carried out only by state organs, enterprises and 'associates' (collectives) operating under national production plans; going to sea requires state/military permission.
- Costo
- unknown
- Validità
- unknown
- Come ottenerla
- Not obtainable by private individuals or tourists; access to the sea for fishing is granted only to authorised state-organised entities and is controlled by coastal security/military authorities.
- Autorità
- Central fisheries guidance organ / Ministry of Land and Environment Protection (territorial environment conservation organ); Coastal Security Bureau
Attrezzatura e tecnica
Regole sull'attrezzatura
Quale attrezzatura è consentita, come può essere usata e le condizioni associate.
Restrizioni
- The Fisheries Act (Art 32.5) delegates the list of 'Prohibited fishing gears or methods' to subordinate central-organ regulations, which are not publicly available; whether spearguns/harpoons are listed as prohibited gear is unknown.
- Scuba diving equipment is not available for rent anywhere in the DPRK; foreign tourist diving has been arranged only by sourcing gear externally and with prior state permission.
No published equipment rule addresses recreational spearguns or pole spears. North Korean coastal residents are reported to free-dive in traditional gear for lobster and shellfish, but this is subsistence/collective activity, not licensed recreational spearfishing.
Cosa puoi prelevare
Limiti di cattura e specie protette
Quote giornaliere, taglie minime e specie che non devono mai essere prelevate.
Limite giornaliero
unknown
The Fisheries Act (Art 32) provides that protected species, minimum catch sizes and conservation seasons are set by the central territorial environmental guidance organ, but the specific species lists and size limits are issued in subordinate 'Detailed Rules on the Protection and Increase of Fishery Resources' that are not publicly available. Concrete numeric catch/size limits are therefore unknown.
Chi può pescare
Visitatori e residenti
Come le regole differiscono per i visitatori stranieri e i residenti locali.
Visitatori stranieri
Non consentitoLicenza speciale obbligatoria
Requisiti
- By Art 45 of the Fisheries Act, no foreign country or foreign person may investigate fisheries resources or produce marine products in the DPRK Exclusive Economic Zone except under an agreement with the DPRK.
- Any in-water activity by foreign tourists (e.g. scuba diving) must be pre-arranged through state-approved tour operators and authorised by DPRK authorities.
Restrizioni
- Recreational spearfishing by foreigners is not provided for in law and is not available in practice.
- Coastal access is controlled by military/coastal-security authorities.
Tourism is tightly state-controlled and independent travel is not permitted; there is no pathway for a foreign visitor to lawfully spearfish.
Residenti
No individual recreational fishing/spearfishing licence regime; lawful fishing is organised through state enterprises and collectives.
Requisiti
- Per Art 37, citizens must observe the 'stipulated angling regulations' and may not collect conservation grasses without permission.
- Going to sea is subject to state/military permission; the Coastal Security Bureau supervises fishing areas.
Coastal residents reportedly free-dive for shellfish/lobster and young people may have simple fishing tackle for subsistence/recreational angling, but this is not a formalised licensed recreational-spearfishing right. Reports (Radio Free Asia) describe strict control of fishermen's permits and radios and detention of boats over defection fears.
Dove sulla costa
Zone consentite e vietate
Aree denominate aperte o chiuse alla pesca subacquea. Vedi il quadro completo sulla mappa interattiva.
Aree vietate
- Mundok Migratory Bird Reserve (Chongchon River estuary)protected wetland / Ramsar site / migratory bird reserve
Nationally protected coastal wetland at the mouth of the Chongchon River on the west coast, on the border of South Phyongan and North Phyongan provinces. Designated a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance (DPRK acceded to the Ramsar Convention in May 2018). Hosts more than 50,000 waterbirds per migration season; extractive activity is restricted.
- Rason Migratory Bird Reserve (Tumen River estuary)protected wetland / Ramsar site / migratory bird reserve
Coastal/estuarine reserve at the mouth of the Tumen River in the far northeast, near the Russia/China border. Designated a Ramsar site; a productive river-sea mixing zone with lakes, bays and islands hosting 250+ bird species. Protected; extractive activity restricted.
- Entire national coastline (military/coastal security control)military / restricted security zone
The whole DPRK coast is under military and coastal-security supervision. Fishing is conducted under military oversight to prevent defections, the Coastal Security Bureau polices fishing areas, and going to sea requires permission. Independent or recreational access to the sea by individuals or foreigners is effectively prohibited without explicit state authorisation.
- Mount Kumgang Biosphere Reserve (Sea Kumgang coastal/marine area)UNESCO biosphere reserve / coastal-marine protected area
UNESCO Man and the Biosphere reserve in the southeast of the DPRK on the East Sea (Sea of Japan) coast, in Kangwon Province. The reserve includes adjacent marine areas to the east; of 254,076 ha total it comprises roughly 8,469 ha of marine area. The coastal 'Sea Kumgang' zone and its natural lagoon lakes are habitat for migratory birds on the East Asian-Australasian Flyway and are managed for conservation, with fishing carried out only via designated state fishing stations and fishery co-operatives. Extractive recreational activity such as spearfishing is not provided for.
- Mount Chilbo Biosphere Reserve (Sea Chilbo coastal/marine area)UNESCO biosphere reserve / coastal-marine protected area
UNESCO Man and the Biosphere reserve (registered July 2014) on the East Sea (Sea of Japan) coast of North Hamgyong Province, DPRK. The reserve covers 50,340 ha, of which 4,570 ha is marine ('Sea Chilbo'), featuring steep rocky coastal cliffs and blended marine/terrestrial ecosystems. The coastal/marine zone is part of a managed conservation area where extractive recreational underwater fishing is not provided for.
Condizioni in acqua
Condizioni in tempo reale
Istantanea marina e meteo in tempo reale vicino a un punto di riferimento costiero in North Korea, da Open-Meteo. Le condizioni variano lungo la costa — considerale indicative.
Condizioni marine e meteo in tempo reale vicino a Mundok Migratory Bird Reserve (Chongchon River estuary).
A chi rivolgersi
Autorità
Gli enti ufficiali responsabili della pesca e delle licenze.
Ministry of Land and Environment Protection (territorial environment conservation organ)
environment ministry / fisheries resources conservation authority
faolex.fao.orgunknownCentral fisheries guidance organ (DPRK Ministry of Fisheries)
fisheries authority
faolex.fao.orgunknownCoastal Security Bureau
maritime / coastal security authority
en.wikipedia.orgunknown
Da dove provengono
Fonti
Ogni affermazione su questa pagina risale a uno di questi riferimenti.
- [01]
Fisheries Act, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (FAO FAOLEX, English translation; adopted 1995, amended 1999)
Ufficialefaolex.fao.orgConsultato il Giu 14 - [02]
Act of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on Fisheries (InforMEA / FAOLEX record)
Ufficialeinformea.orgConsultato il Giu 14 - [03]
Compendium of North Korean Law (English Translation) - Columbia Law School, Center for Korean Legal Studies
Secondariakls.law.columbia.eduConsultato il Giu 14 - [04]
North Korea dramatically increases fisheries law penalties to combat illegal exports (Daily NK, 2025)
Secondariadailynk.comConsultato il Giu 14 - [05]
Fishing industry in North Korea (Wikipedia)
Secondariaen.wikipedia.orgConsultato il Giu 14 - [06]
New North Korean Fishing Regulations Cause Economic Hardship for Fishermen (Radio Free Asia)
Secondariarfa.orgConsultato il Giu 14 - [07]
DPRK to become the 170th Contracting Party to the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar Convention) - Mundok & Rason reserves
Ufficialeramsar.orgConsultato il Giu 14 - [08]
Diving in North Korea (Young Pioneer Tours)
communityyoungpioneertours.comConsultato il Giu 14
Note dei ricercatori
North Korea (DPRK) has NO recreational or sport spearfishing regime. The primary verbatim legal text used here is the Fisheries Act (adopted 18 Jan 1995 by SPA decision No. 49; amended 4 Feb 1999 by decree No. 383), retrieved as an official English translation from FAO FAOLEX. That Act regulates only state-organised fisheries (organs, enterprises and 'associates'/collectives) under national production plans; it contains no concept of an individual recreational spearfishing licence. The only individual-facing clause (Art 37) tells citizens to 'observe the stipulated angling regulations' without defining them. Detailed rules on protected species, minimum sizes, closed seasons and prohibited gear/methods are delegated by Art 32 to subordinate central-organ regulations ('Detailed Rules on the Protection and Increase of Fishery Resources') that are not publicly retrievable, so spearfishing-specific gear rules, species lists and numeric limits are UNKNOWN. In practice the entire coast is under military/coastal-security supervision (to prevent defection), going to sea requires permission, foreigners are barred from producing marine products in the EEZ (Art 45), and there is no pathway for a tourist to lawfully spearfish. Status is therefore set to 'restricted' and data_confidence to 'low' because, although the governing statute is an authoritative primary source, it simply does not address recreational spearfishing and the operative subordinate detail is not publicly available. April and July are statutory 'conservation months' (Art 31). Two Ramsar-designated coastal reserves (Mundok and Rason) are protected zones; their coordinates are approximate (estuary locations), not from a precise legal boundary.
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